The congenital muscular dystrophies are a group of conditions in which symptoms are apparent at birth or within the first six months. Immediate symptoms include:

  • poor head control
  • muscle weakness causing the baby to seem floppy (hypotonic)
  • dislocated hips


Contractures (known as arthrogryposis) can be severe and affect several joints. It happens because the baby has not had the muscle strength to move freely enough in the womb.

A later indication of a congenital muscular dystrophy may be:

  • a delay in the child crawling, standing and walking
  • tightness (contractures) in the ankles, hips, knees and elbows

There are a number of conditions which fall under the umbrella of congenital muscular dystrophy. They are usually inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.

Approximately one in 50,000 babies are born with congenital muscular dystrophy in the UK. Not all will be correctly diagnosed and mild forms of the condition may remain undetected. As diagnosis becomes more accurate and we begin to understand the condition better, we will have a clearer idea of how many people are actually affected in this country.

Return to the Congenital muscular dystrophy home page.