Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that make muscles weaker and less flexible over time. It is caused by a problem in the genes that control how the body keeps muscles healthy. For some people, the disease starts early in childhood. Others don't have any symptoms until they are teenagers or middle-aged adults.
How muscular dystrophy affects you or your child depends on the kind. Most people's condition will get worse over time, and some people may lose the ability to walk, talk, or care for themselves. But that doesn't happen to everyone. Other people can live for many years with mild symptoms.

Symptoms
For most types of muscular dystrophy, symptoms start to show up in childhood or in the teen years. In general, children with the condition:
Fall down often
Have weak muscles
Have muscle cramps
Have trouble getting up, climbing stairs, running, or jumping
Walk on their toes or waddle
Some will also have symptoms like:
A curved spine (called scoliosis)
Droopy eyelids
Heart problems
Trouble breathing or swallowing
Vision problems
Weakness in the muscles of the face