What's Becker muscular dystrophy?
Becker muscular dystrophy is an X-linked muscle disease caused primarily by in-frame mutations in the DMD (dystrophin) gene.
| Features mapped | 6 |
|---|---|
| Treatments mapped | 1 |
| Published sources | 3 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-08-04 |
Signs and symptoms
Elevated circulating creatine kinase activity
A markedly elevated blood creatine kinase level (hyperCKemia), a marker of muscle breakdown, can occur in Becker muscular dystrophy, sometimes without other symptoms.
Skeletal muscle atrophy
Wasting of specific muscles, such as a quadriceps myopathy, is one of the clinical presentations of Becker muscular dystrophy.
Muscle spasm
Muscle cramps, part of a cramp-pain syndrome, occur in Becker muscular dystrophy.
Muscle weakness
Limb-girdle muscle weakness, affecting the shoulder and hip muscles, is one of the clinical presentations of Becker muscular dystrophy.
Myalgia
Muscle pain and cramps (a cramp-pain syndrome) are one of the clinical presentations of Becker muscular dystrophy.
Dilated cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy (weakening of the heart muscle) can occur in Becker muscular dystrophy, sometimes even when muscle symptoms are mild or subclinical.
Treatment and management
What the research describes, not a recommendation. Treatment decisions belong with your clinician.
This covers treatments that appear in the published research mapped here. Investigational and experimental therapies are not included, so their absence is a boundary of this map, not a sign they do not exist.
exercise training
Supervised aerobic and low-intensity resistance training can help maintain fitness and muscle strength in Becker muscular dystrophy, while high-intensity exercise may pose risks.
Used to help with: Muscle weakness.
“In BMD, aerobic training and supervised low-intensity resistance generally improve fitness/strength, whereas high-intensity loads may pose risks.”
How to read the evidence labels
Where this comes from
This guide is built from 3 published source(s). Every claim above links back to one of them. Click any source ID to read the original on PubMed.
Take it further
Printed, source-linked documents built from this condition's graph — ready to bring to an appointment or attach to a coverage request. Every claim carries its published source, the same as this guide.