I'm an 12 year Active Duty Air Force E-7 and have chronic lower back pain. In the last 2 years, I have been exempted from 2 of the 4 components of the last 3 Air Force Fitness tests. This year, I was attempting to take the whole PT test but with my back pain realized I will need an exemption on the 1.5 mile run. Is there a chance I will get MEB'd and discharged? I have no physical damage just chronic pain bad enough to keep me from running fast enough to get the time required to pass the test. I have also only been off and on a profile for about 8 weeks of the past year as I only get one for PT tests. Otherwise I can do my job fine.... This is my first post, so my apologies if it's in the wrong area or worded incorrectly.
Lower back pain but no damage, chance for MEB?
- Thread starter Jay W
- Start date
I am on TDRL. I had chronic hip and knee pain and they couldn't find anything wrong. They placed me on TDRL with 30% disability. Just because they cannot find something does not mean that their isn't damage. A year after I got out I found out that I had a torn ligament in my hip that the Doctors in the Army missed. I am sure you will probably get med boarded. But usually they will recommend you for it if they think that it is bad enough.
If you have pain that is bad enough to prevent you from taking the full PT test, you have damage somewhere, if not in the bones/muscles...possibly the nerves. What specialists have you been examined by? If you don't have any bone/muscle damage, you should visit a neurosurgeon...back problems don't get better without proper diagnosis/treatment (even then, some back problems never get better and even worsen). Often times (at least in the Air Force), profiles and PT exemptions highlight a member for a MEB. If your injuries affect your job, deployability and PT testing, you will most certainly be recommended by your PCM or command for the MEB process.
I had no spinal damage, but chronic mid to lower back pain. I did have two minor procedures done on my lower nerves where they burnt them. This helped quite a bit regarding pain, but that was about 8 months ago. My pain manangment surgeon told me the procedure is not permanent and the nerves will grow back. Sure enough, about a month ago, the pain started to come back and is actually worse than before. My neurologist claimed my back pain was muscular skeletal, but fails to believe 14 years sitting in a vibrating helicopter for hours upon hours wearing body army and having poor posture in flight has anything to do with it. Yet another condition I feel the VA really screwed me on. Once I can file a new claim I will be fighting this one and having a new ROM now that my pain has returned. I received a new PCM about two months ago and he started me on Lyrica and that has been a blessing allowing me to get off of opiates for pain management though. My back pain was not an unfitting condition though so if this was the only issue I had, I would still be serving, perhaps in a different MOS, but unlikely considering the military is trying to get rid of people with this draw-down.
i have the same problem first they put me with a diagnosis of periformise syndrome but now a lower right back pain... will i get med boarded? with this kind of pain I've been in profile for 9 months now and still have this irritating pain at my lower back...had x-ray, MIR, and ECG all came negative and told me (physicians) they dont know whats wrong with me confused right now since reading your posts. MOS 11B (infantry)
Have you tried a rheumotologist? Took forever for them to fiqure out what was wrong with me besides DDD..until iu went to a rheumotologist. Give it a shot.
well, i am station in italy we dont have rheumotologist here... whats else do u suggest they ask me for more x-ray, and mri i will let you guys know the update after i got it again, for re-taking a test... but if they dont found anything will they still medboard me? by then its 10 months in profile