Becker's Muscular Dystrophy - Symptoms

Symptoms

• Muscle weakness, slowly progressive (Difficulty running, hopping, jumping; difficulty walking. However, ability to walk may or may not continue well into adulthood
• Toe-walking (walking on toes; also known as equinus)
• Use of Gower's Maneuver or a modified form of Gower's Maneuver to get up from floor.
• Frequent falls
• Difficulty breathing
• Skeletal deformities, chest and back (scoliosis)
• Muscle deformities (contractions of heels, legs; Pseudohypertrophy of calf muscles)
• Fatigue
• Heart disease, particularly dilated cardiomyopathy
• Elevated CPK (creatine phosphokinase) levels in blood: Elevated CPK levels are more common at younger ages and decreases later in life, perhaps because muscle degeneration occurs more rapidly at younger ages, when there is also more muscle mass to deteriorate.

People with this disorder typically experience progressive muscle weakness of the leg and pelvis muscles, which is associated with a loss of muscle mass (wasting). Muscle weakness also occurs in the arms, neck, and other areas, but not as noticeably severe as in the lower half of the body.

Calf muscles initially enlarge during the ages of 5-15 (an attempt by the body to compensate for loss of muscle strength), but the enlarged muscle tissue is eventually replaced by fat and connective tissue (pseudohypertrophy) as the legs become less used (use of wheelchair).

Muscle contractions, which may be painful, occur in the legs and heels, causing inability to use the muscles because of shortening of muscle fibers and fibrosis of connective tissue. Bones may develop abnormally, causing skeletal deformities of the chest and other areas.

Cardiomyopathy (damage to the heart) does not occur as commonly with this disorder as it does with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy.