Though there's no cure for Muscular Dystrophy yet, doctors are working to improve muscle and joint function, and slow muscle deterioration.

CARING FOR A CHILD WITH MD

If your child is diagnosed with MD, a team of medical specialists will work with you and your family, including: a neurologist, orthopedist, pulmonologist, physical and occupational therapist, nurse practitioner, cardiologist, registered dietician, and a social worker.

TREATMENT FOR MD

Muscular dystrophy is often degenerative, so kids may pass through different stages as it progresses and require different kinds of treatment. During the early stages, physical therapy, joint bracing, and the medication prednisone are often used.

During the later stages, doctors may use assistive devices such as:

physical therapy and bracing to improve flexibility
power wheelchairs and scooters to improve mobility
a ventilator to support breathing
robotics to help your child perform routine daily tasks

Physical Therapy & Bracing
Physical therapy can help a child maintain muscle tone and reduce the severity of joint contractures with exercises that keep the muscles strong and the joints flexible.

A physical therapist also uses bracing to help prevent joint contractures, a stiffening of the muscles near the joints that can make it harder to move and can lock the joints in painful positions. By providing extra support in just the right places, bracing can extend the time that a child with MD can walk independently.

Prednisone
If a child has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the doctor may prescribe the steroid prednisone to help slow the rate of muscle deterioration. By doing so, the child may be able to walk longer and live a more active life.

There is some debate over the best time to begin prednisone treatment, but most doctors prescribe it when a child with MD is 5 or 6 years old or when the child's strength begins to significantly decline. Prednisone does have side effects, though. It can cause weight gain, which can put even greater strain on already weak muscles. It also can cause a loss of bone density and, possibly, lead to fractures. If your doctor prescribes prednisone, he or she will closely monitor your child.

Spinal Fusion
Many children with the Duchenne and Becker forms of MD develop severe scoliosis — an S- or C-shaped curvature of the spine caused by back muscles that are too weak to hold the spine erect.

Some kids with severe cases undergo spinal fusion, a surgery that can reduce pain, lessen the severity of the curvature so that a child can sit upright and comfortably in a chair, and ensure that the spine curvature doesn't have an effect on breathing. Usually, spinal fusion surgery only requires a short hospital stay.

Respiratory Care
Many kids with MD also have weakened heart and respiratory muscles. As a result, they can't cough out phlegm and sometimes develop respiratory infections that can quickly become serious. Good general health care and regular vaccinations are especially important for children with muscular dystrophy to help prevent these infections.

Assistive Devices
A variety of new technologies can provide independence and mobility for kids with muscular dystrophy.

Some kids with Duchenne MD may use a manual wheelchair once it becomes difficult to walk. Others go directly to a motorized wheelchair, which can be equipped to meet their needs as muscle deterioration advances.

Robotic technologies also are under development to help kids move their arms and perform activities of daily living.

If your child would benefit from an assistive technological device, contact your local chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association to ask about financial assistance that might be available. In some cases, health insurers cover the cost of these devices.