Occurring mostly in males, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is an X-linked disorder that includes progressive muscle weakening caused by an insufficient gene for the production of a protein in the muscles called dystrophin. (Lucas-Heron, 1995) It affects about one in 3600-6000 live male births, making it the most common form of muscular dystrophy. Symptoms are most often noticeable by the time patients reach the age of three to five. The affected males will lose their ability to walk by eight to twelve years of age, making them wheelchair dependent. This disorder affects muscle tissues, leading to problems with organs. Rarely will affected individuals live past their late twenties. (Morgenroth, Hache, and Clemens, 2012) Dystrophin is part of the dystrophin-associated glycoprotein complex (a protein complex) that plays the role of an anchor, linking every muscle
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Without the healthy and strong muscles, affected patients experience problems with all actions that require the use of muscles, especially legs; they are not able to perform motor skills such as running or jumping easily. Also, they frequently fall due to the minimum amount of strength available in their legs, and actions like getting up from a lying position or ascending stairs is a difficult task for them. (Connolly, Florence, Cradock, 2013) Patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy have a unique way of rising from the floor, called a Gower’s maneuver; they first get on their hands and feet and raise the upper body by “walking” their hands up the leg. Also, research show that affected individuals demonstrate substandard results in academic achievement scores compared to their siblings. Studies show that children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy have poorer verbal memory spans, self-control problems, and physical difficulties, as well. (Hinton, Vivo, and Fee,
Without the healthy and strong muscles, affected patients experience problems with all actions that require the use of muscles, especially legs; they are not able to perform motor skills such as running or jumping easily. Also, they frequently fall due to the minimum amount of strength available in their legs, and actions like getting up from a lying position or ascending stairs is a difficult task for them. (Connolly, Florence, Cradock, 2013) Patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy have a unique way of rising from the floor, called a Gower’s maneuver; they first get on their hands and feet and raise the upper body by “walking” their hands up the leg. Also, research show that affected individuals demonstrate substandard results in academic achievement scores compared to their siblings. Studies show that children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy have poorer verbal memory spans, self-control problems, and physical difficulties, as well. (Hinton, Vivo, and Fee,