Arthritis and CAF service

[Jarnhamar]

My brother is interested in joining the military.
Problem is he was into weight lifting when he was younger and messed up his back pretty bad. (Not sure if this was the direct cause, heriditary or whatever)  He has pretty bad arthritis in his back and is on morphine for it. (21 yrs old). It‘s slowly getting better. Would an MO look at this and shut him down right from the start or would they consider letting him in depending on the condition of his back?

 

[Michael OLeary]

Ghost, the only way to be sure is to have the CFRC send it by their doc, but I suspect that any problem serious enough to require Morphine for the pain may be a "no go" until he‘s clear of the drugs.

Mike

 

[Jarnhamar]

I figured the same thing but i didn‘t wanna tell him no off the bat. I‘ll check into it thanks

 

[rudyp]

Hello everyone: I'm interested in joining a local militia unit and I've been for a tour of the facility. Unfortunaltely since beginning my fitness training, I have discovered to my horror that I have an early case of oste- arthritis. Despite being in good health otherwise, I am now taking physio therapy for the condition and I am hopeful that despite all, I will be able to perform all of the physical tests. I have done a search and have not been able to find anyone with a similiar condition. Would anyone here know whether this condition will prevent enrollment? I  was hoping to join an infantry regiment but I would settle for a service trade also. Thanks for your time and if such a thread has already been established, I appoligise in advance and would welcome someone directing me to it.
Rudy P

 

[pbi]

Well, I'm not a doctor, but I strongly recommend that you consider that in any Army MOC, regardless,, you can expect to be exposed to extreme variations in temperature, dampness for extended periods (including being cold and wet....), carrying and lifting heavy loads, variable and perhaps unpredictable diet, various types of mental and physical stress, and possible inability to access adequate medical care for periods of time. If you're an Infantryman, multiply all of that by a good bit, and you've got an idea of what you may be up against.

If your physician reviews this list and tells you that you still have a good chance, best of luck to you. Otherwise, I suggest you may want to avoid severely worsening your existing condition. Cheers.

 

[Nemo888]

Went to the Doc. He said it is arthritis in my lower back. I've just run out of cartillage in one lower vertebrae and am getting pretty thin in two others. Didn't tell my unit yet. Pain is pretty bad, celebrex worked for awhile but not anymore. I have a course at Borden next month and all the running is going to cause searing pain. This is not something that gets better.

  I'm pretty depressed. I think my career will be over soon. Any advice from someone who's been there?

 

[Kat Stevens]

I've been there.  18 years healthy as a horse, climbed down off my AVLB one day, and my back decided not to hold me up anymore.  3 days strapped to a board in the Field Hospital (2 big thumbs waaay up to 1 Fd Amb).  Medevac back to Edmonton, 7 months learning to stand and walk upright.  I don't know about your time in or anything, but you have to remember one thing:  The army only wants/needs you as long as you are productive.  Your back has to last you the rest of your life.  What I'm saying is, if it's a genuine problem don't be a hero.  Oh, and make sure EVERY visit to the MO is recorded... PM if I can help more..

CHIMO,  Kat

 

[TCBF]

2 arms, 2 legs, 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 balls, 2 kidneys....... but only one back.

Document the hell out of everything, make lists of witnesses of when you were hurt, make sure the acc reps on your PERS file get included in the VAC file, when it is set up.

Your RCL can help with this if you want.  Start the paper work now, as any settlements are back dated.

Any Legion branch can point you in the right direction, or contact them on line.

You do not have to be a member.

Tom

 

[OpsY]

Hello, about three years ago I was diagnosticed(sorry for the spelling i'm french) some hmm arthritism(?) for teenages. it basically gave me pain in the knees when I walked. I stopped seeing him 2 years ago, because most of the casual pain( when I was walking) was gone. No pills they gave me fixed it and the doctors told me chances were that It wa normal since I was growing(hmm). Now it's been all that time and everything is gone. My knees were then over sensitive( a simple hit could prevent me from walking for 2 days) right now I can smash them it gets a little bit painful, but I can live. unless we have to jump on our knees in a rock field during the training, then again I should make it. the only problem that I have left, is that my right knee won't always flex totally( in the close position). To make it simple, when i flex it it goes about 3milimeters elss than the left one but it's a little bit paintful depending on the day. In normal life, i never get to flex it that much but still.. i'm sort of worried. as the docs said I should be healed "whithin years" and that's what's going on. I've been told that regular arthrism made it hard for people to work in humid placed but I've been working on a farm the whole summer getting up at 5 and everything was perfect. I know most of you people will just tell me to go see a doc but when my case was considered important while not beeing urgent it took me 8 months of waiting to get an appointment...


Now I sort of hope some doctor is browsing this and will be able to give me a little invoice on what i should do and what do they think of my current situation. should I renounce joining? Should I not? Beeing in the CF has been a child dream since I can remeber. I was in grade 1 and already whishing to be in.... now i'm in secondary 5, last high school year, and I'm thinking about enlisting at the end of the summer when I hit 17 and my medical condition as stated above is my current concern.... And I have read that the aptitude test had a hard part in maths... is it true? are we REQUIRED to have a good grade on that test or it's only to spot what you're good at?

 

[COBRA-6]

Well first off I am not a doctor, nor did I stay in a holiday inn express last night...

I think you are out of luck, the military is very hard on the lower body, so problems of your type would most likely prevent you from being accepted. That being said, the only way to find out for sure is to go in and talk to the recruiting staff.

Cheers

 

[OpsY]

that's what I feared :-\ the pain it gives me when i flex mt right knee for too long lasts for about 1 1/2 second, nothing dangerous or threathening and the docs said  all that's going in there will either fully heal either make it so I can never walka gain. As things are going so far  i still walk and the casual pain is no longer existant, except when I flex the right knee Totally totally and put my weight on it. it's similar to taking your arm and then pullinmg it with your other to get it  as close as it can to your muscle..


I've read that guy's post below me talking about his knee clicking, mine does that too when i don't move my feet but i move my body about 45 degrees inner.... no pain either and it doesn'T seem like tendon slapping as mentionned... it's doing the exact same noise fingers do.

 

[kincanucks]

Your INDIVIDUAL medical fitness for joining the CF can only be determined through the medical portion of the recruiting process and not through this board and the experiences of others.  If you want to join then apply and see where the process takes you.

 

[windsorftw]

Well, after accepting a job offer last month, my medical condition, as I found out last week has changed slightly.
I am due to head to St. Jean in January and I am afraid that if I divulge the change in my condition I may not get to go.
I threw my back out 6 weeks ago, had xrays done and found out I have slight arthritis in my lower spine.  This however, according to the doctor, has been present for a few years now and the pain/discomfort I am currently feeling is unrelated.

My back is getting better on a daily basis, and the arthritis is really mild.  I get sworn in on the 20th....I'm basically getting set to go in a matter of weeks, and I don't want to wait around for another course if I don't have to.
Any suggestions?

 

[George Wallace]

Funny....that.  I had my lower back X-rayed and guess what the Doctor said.  Yup!  Signs of arthritis.  Funny also, how I have had no back pain as long as I remain active.  Almost everyone will have some signs of arthritis, if they go and have the proper checkups done.  I am sure that you have nothing to worry about, but you should ask the Doctor for his opinion.  Sometimes Doctors may say things like this, which may be common place to them, but unintentionally throw the fear of God into their patient.

 

[windsorftw]

Thanks for the info, helped ease my mind quite a bit! 

 

[kincanucks]

You still have to report this information to the CFRC/D medical personnel.  They may say it is nothing and carry on but it still has to be reported.

 

[windsorftw]

Already did so, and gathering the necessary paper work to hopefully get it reviewed before IAP/BOTP starts for me.  There's a chance I might not get it in on time which would be a real bummer..

:'(

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I was diagnosed with that waaaaaay back when I got hurt once....stayed in for 8 more years and more than 25 years later still enjoy all my different sports and my work-related phsyical activities. . I think if we were to check everyones joints who had more than a couple years in any combat arms trades and toss those with some arthritis out, we would have a rather small[er] army.

In my unprofessional opinion it shouldn't make a difference unless it starts making a difference..............

 

[windsorftw]

Thanks for the positive feedback.  At this point I'm not too worried about it affecting my joining the forces, it's more of a matter of racing to beat the clock at this point.  I'm getting sworn in on the 20th and need to be deemed 'medically fit' before hand.  I hope the people in Ottawa don't take their sweet time reviewing my file!

 

[brunswickfire]

Okay, here is the scoup.  I have found out I have Arthritis in my left knee.  I have told those at my unit of my condition, but they say I can still make cap.  What are the thoughts out there.?