Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesTypesSymptomsTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
Types
Symptoms
Treatment
Muscle atrophyrefers to the shrinking or “wasting away” of muscles. It is usually a symptom of another condition rather than a condition in and of itself. In addition to a loss in the size of muscles, muscle atrophy can also cause muscle weakness.
Muscular dystrophyis a rare genetic disorder that affects the proteins that build and maintain healthy muscles. While muscular dystrophy can cause muscle atrophy, they are different conditions with different causes, symptoms, and treatments.
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Causes of Muscular DystrophySpontaneous gene mutationInherited autosomal dominant gene mutationInherited autosomal recessive gene mutationInherited X-linked gene mutationCauses of Muscle AtrophyInjuryIllness/health conditionsInactivityAgingMalnutrition
Causes of Muscular DystrophySpontaneous gene mutationInherited autosomal dominant gene mutationInherited autosomal recessive gene mutationInherited X-linked gene mutation
Spontaneous gene mutation
Inherited autosomal dominant gene mutation
Inherited autosomal recessive gene mutation
Inherited X-linked gene mutation
Causes of Muscle AtrophyInjuryIllness/health conditionsInactivityAgingMalnutrition
Injury
Illness/health conditions
Inactivity
Aging
Malnutrition
Muscular Dystrophy Causes
Noninherited
Spontaneous mutations can occur in one of the thousands of genes that program the proteins needed to make and maintain muscles. This can result in altered, insufficient, or missing proteins, and prevent body cells from working properly.
While these spontaneous mutations are not inherited from parents, they can be passed down to the children of the person with muscular dystrophy, resulting in inherited muscular dystrophy or in an individual who is a carrier of a mutated gene that can cause muscular dystrophy.
Inherited
A person receives 23 chromosomes from each parent—one sex chromosome and 22 nonsex chromosomes—for a total of 46 chromosomes, arranged in pairs.
Each of these pairs of chromosomes contains two of the same chromosomes except for sex chromosomes. People who carry two X chromosomes (female genetic sex) will pass on one of their two X chromosomes to their offspring. People who carry XY chromosomes (male genetic sex) will pass either an X or a Y chromosome to their offspring.
Mutated genes can bepassed on to offspringthrough any of these chromosomes from either parent.
A mutated gene that can cause muscular dystrophy can be inherited in one of three ways:
Inherited Muscle Dystrophy and ChildrenHere is an example of how it maps out:A child with an affected X chromosome and a Y chromosome will have the disorder.A child with one affected X and one unaffected X will be a carrier and is unlikely to show symptoms.A child who has two affected X chromosomes will have the disorder, but in the case of muscular dystrophy, this is very rare.
Inherited Muscle Dystrophy and Children
Here is an example of how it maps out:A child with an affected X chromosome and a Y chromosome will have the disorder.A child with one affected X and one unaffected X will be a carrier and is unlikely to show symptoms.A child who has two affected X chromosomes will have the disorder, but in the case of muscular dystrophy, this is very rare.
Here is an example of how it maps out:
Muscle Atrophy Causes
These can include:
Muscular Dystrophy TypesDuchenne muscular dystrophyBecker muscular dystrophyCongenital muscular dystrophyDistal muscular dystrophyEmery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophyFacioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophyLimb-girdle muscular dystrophyMyotonic muscular dystrophyOculopharyngeal muscular dystrophyMuscle Atrophy TypesPhysiologic (disuse)PathologicNeurogenic
Muscular Dystrophy TypesDuchenne muscular dystrophyBecker muscular dystrophyCongenital muscular dystrophyDistal muscular dystrophyEmery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophyFacioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophyLimb-girdle muscular dystrophyMyotonic muscular dystrophyOculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy
Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Becker muscular dystrophy
Congenital muscular dystrophy
Distal muscular dystrophy
Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy
Myotonic muscular dystrophy
Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy
Muscle Atrophy TypesPhysiologic (disuse)PathologicNeurogenic
Physiologic (disuse)
Pathologic
Neurogenic
Muscular Dystrophy Types
While muscular dystrophy refers to more than 30 genetic diseases, there are nine main types.
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a form of muscular dystrophy that tends to worsen quickly. More information on Duchenne muscular dystrophy includes:
Becker Muscular Dystrophy
Becker muscular dystrophy is the second most common muscular dystrophy. More information on Becker muscular dystrophy includes:
Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
Congenital muscular dystrophyis an inherited condition that predominantly affects the muscles, brain, and eyes. More information includes:
Distal Muscular Dystrophy
Distal muscular dystrophy (DD)is a group of rare diseases that affect your muscles (genetic myopathies). More information includes:
Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy
Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophyis a condition that primarily affects muscles used for movement (skeletal muscles) and the heart (cardiac muscle). More information includes:
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy gets its name from the muscles that are affected most often: those of the face, around the shoulder blades, and in the upper arms. More information includes:
Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy is a term for a group of diseases that cause weakness and wasting of the muscles in the arms and legs. More information includes:
Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy
Myotonic dystrophy is the most common form of muscular dystrophy that begins in adulthood. More information includes:
Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy
Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) is a rare genetic condition that causes weakness in the muscles around the upper eyelids and part of the throat called the pharynx. More information includes:
What Is Spinal Muscular Atrophy?Whilespinal muscular atrophysounds like muscle atrophy, it is actually a genetic disorder with symptoms that have some similarities to muscular dystrophy.
What Is Spinal Muscular Atrophy?
Whilespinal muscular atrophysounds like muscle atrophy, it is actually a genetic disorder with symptoms that have some similarities to muscular dystrophy.
Muscle Atrophy Types
Muscle atrophy generally falls under three types:
Physiologic (Disuse)
Physiologic muscle atrophy occurs from prolonged periods of time when muscles are not used at all or not used enough. In other words, “use it or lose it” as the adage goes.
While significant muscle atrophy can take time, signs of atrophy on a molecular level can begin as early as after a week of reduced activity.
There are a lot of reasons that physiologic muscle atrophy can occur, but some of the common ones include:
Physiologic muscle atrophy can also occur as a secondary type of atrophy to other types of muscle atrophy when those limit movement and activity.
Pathogenic muscle atrophy can occur as a result of:
Neurogenic atrophy affects the nerves that connect to muscle tissue. It is the most serious form of muscle atrophy.
Some conditions and diseases that can affect the nerves that control muscles include:
Symptoms of Muscular DystrophyMuscle weakness and atrophyDifficulty walking, climbing, jumping, and other physical activitiesEnlarged calvesHeart problemsBreathing problemsCurved spineMuscle painStiff or loose jointsDifficulty swallowingWaddling gaitSymptoms of Muscle AtrophyMuscle weaknessLoss of muscle tissueDifficulties with balanceMobility problemsNumbness or tinglingMuscle twitching, cramps, aches and pains
Symptoms of Muscular DystrophyMuscle weakness and atrophyDifficulty walking, climbing, jumping, and other physical activitiesEnlarged calvesHeart problemsBreathing problemsCurved spineMuscle painStiff or loose jointsDifficulty swallowingWaddling gait
Muscle weakness and atrophy
Difficulty walking, climbing, jumping, and other physical activities
Enlarged calves
Heart problems
Breathing problems
Curved spine
Muscle pain
Stiff or loose joints
Difficulty swallowing
Waddling gait
Symptoms of Muscle AtrophyMuscle weaknessLoss of muscle tissueDifficulties with balanceMobility problemsNumbness or tinglingMuscle twitching, cramps, aches and pains
Muscle weakness
Loss of muscle tissue
Difficulties with balance
Mobility problems
Numbness or tingling
Muscle twitching, cramps, aches and pains
Muscular Dystrophy Symptoms
The symptoms of muscular dystrophy depend on the type, but generally are progressive, get increasingly debilitating, and include muscular weakness and atrophy.
Symptoms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy include:
Symptoms of Becker muscular dystrophy include:
Symptoms of congenital muscular dystrophy include:
Symptoms of distal muscular dystrophy include:
Symptoms of Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy include:
Symptoms of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy include:
Symptoms of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy include:
Symptoms of myotonic muscular dystrophy include:
Infants and children with congenital myotonic muscular dystrophy may exhibit:
Symptoms of oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy include:
Muscular Dystrophy Resources
Muscle Atrophy Symptoms
Muscle atrophy is a symptom. It simply means a loss (or “wasting away”) of muscle tissue.
Symptoms that often accompany muscle atrophy (particularly symptoms of neuromuscular disorders) include:
Treatments for Muscular DystrophyPhysical therapyRespiratory therapySpeech therapyOccupational therapySurgeryDrug therapyGene-based therapyTreatments for Muscle AtrophyRehabilitation exercisesPhysical therapyOccupational therapyResistance trainingNutritionRegular physical activityHealthy lifestyle habits
Treatments for Muscular DystrophyPhysical therapyRespiratory therapySpeech therapyOccupational therapySurgeryDrug therapyGene-based therapy
Physical therapy
Respiratory therapy
Speech therapy
Occupational therapy
Surgery
Drug therapy
Gene-based therapy
Treatments for Muscle AtrophyRehabilitation exercisesPhysical therapyOccupational therapyResistance trainingNutritionRegular physical activityHealthy lifestyle habits
Rehabilitation exercises
Resistance training
Nutrition
Regular physical activity
Healthy lifestyle habits
Muscular Dystrophy Treatments
Muscular dystrophy cannot be prevented or cured, but treatments do exist with the goal of relieving symptoms, improving quality of life, and slowing the progression of the disease. Treatments include:
Muscle Atrophy Treatments
Treatment for muscle atrophy often involves treating the underlying condition. The success of these treatments also depends on what is causing the atrophy.
Physiologic atrophy often responds well to treatment and can even be reversed. These treatments include:
The goal is to get those muscles moving and being used in whatever way is possible.
A Word From Verywell
While muscular dystrophy can cause muscle atrophy, they are not the same condition.
Muscular dystrophy is a genetic condition encompassing nine main types, while muscle atrophy refers to the loss of muscle tissue.
Muscle atrophy can often be reversed with treatments and exercise.
While there is no cure for muscular dystrophy, there are ways to improve quality of life and sometimes to slow the progress of the symptoms.
20 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke.Muscular dystrophy: hope through research.
Wicklund MP.The muscular dystrophies.Continuum (Minneap Minn). 2013;19(6 Muscle Disease):1535-1570. doi:10.1212/01.CON.0000440659.41675.8b
MedlinePlus.Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy.
National Human Genome Institute.About Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
National Academy of Sports Medicine.Understanding muscle atrophy: use it or lose it.
MedlinePlus.Muscle atrophy.
MedlinePlus.Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Cleveland Clinic.Muscular dystrophy: symptoms, causes, treatments.
MedlinePlus.Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy.
Cedars Sinai.Distal muscular dystrophy.
MedlinePlus.Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy.
MedlinePlus.Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
MedlinePlus.Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy.
MedlinePlus.Myotonic dystrophy.
Cedars Sinai.Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.
Muscular Dystrophy Association.Spinal muscular atrophy.
Cedars-Sinai.Neuromuscular disorders.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.What are the treatments for muscular dystrophy (MD)?
National Academy of Sports Medicine.Combating age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia).
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