Word parts
What it means
The best-known kind is muscular dystrophy, a group of inherited diseases in which muscle fibers break down and weakness slowly gets worse. Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most common childhood form, affects mostly boys.
For the nurse
Keep the client as active as is safe, do range-of-motion exercises to prevent stiff joints, and watch breathing and swallowing as the muscles weaken.
At a glance
| Spanish | distrofia |
|---|---|
| Also written | dystrophies |
Related terms
dys-
A word beginning that means difficult, painful or not working normally.
range of motion
How far a joint can move in each of its normal directions, and the exercises that move joints through it.
neuromuscular
Having to do with both nerves and muscles, or with the place where a nerve meets a muscle.