The following symptoms and complaints may indicate Duchenne muscular dystrophy type (mod. by):
| Symptoms | Age | Description |
| Nonspecific early symptoms | 0-3 months | When pulling up from the supine position, the head is not actively carried. |
| Up to 3 months | Reduced, slow, and uncoordinated arm and leg movement | |
| No head posture control | ||
| Until 6 months | Limp and lacking energy overall impression | |
| No active grasping and grasping of objects | ||
| No active rolling movements | ||
| Until 9 months | No active crawling | |
| No free sitting | ||
| up to 12 months | No active pulling up into standing position | |
| Until 15 months | No shimmying on furniture/wall | |
| up to 18 months | No free walking until 18 months! (CK screening required) | |
| Cognitive and language developmental delays | Until 14 months | Does not respond when calling his own name, for example |
| Does not speak clearly recognizable syllable strings (e.g., “dadada, “bababa”) | ||
| Muscular late symptoms | 3-5 years | Frequent falling – difficulty running/jumping/climbing stairs. |
| Calf hypertrophy | ||
| Toe-tapping gait/waddling gait | ||
| Knee hyperextension while walking | ||
| Straightening from prone position to standing is done with the help of own arms (= positive Gowers sign) | ||
| Reduced physical endurance compared to peers |
CK screening for muscular dystrophies.
| Applicability of criterion 1 and at least one of criteria 2 to 4 justify selective CK screening to confirm the suspicion of the presence of Duchenne-type muscular dystrophy. | 1. male sex (obligatory) |
| 2. nonspecific developmental delay (affects motor skills, learning as well as language). | |
| 3. failure to reach free walking at 18 months of age | |
| 4. unclear elevation of transaminases (see lab diagnostics below). |
