Muscular Dystrophy

How is the disease diagnosed?

The diagnosis is made through physical examination, blood tests, muscle-stimulation tests, and muscle biopsy. Muscle-stimulation tests, known as electromyography or EMG, use electrical shocks to cause muscle movement. This movement is abnormal in muscular dystrophy. A muscle biopsy is a procedure in which a doctor takes a piece of a muscle with a special needle. This piece of muscle can be tested and looked at under the microscope to give a diagnosis.