Medical appeal for back pain

[Ray1218]

Hey guys
I just got the results back from my medical and have been made PMU due to “chronic back pain” I had several years ago.

Basically I had back pain when I was growing up between ages 11-14, before I had even hit puberty. The back pain was just strain injury from bad posture and generally growing up. I had several X-rays taken with the last being in 2011 and they all came up clear with the doctors just diagnosing it as mechanical back pain. I went for therapy to help me correct my posture and since 2011 I have had no back problem since.

Capita has classed it as an episode of chronic back pain. My argument is that it happened when I was still delevoping and growing up, and that I been clear ever since I was 14, I’m now 21 and do heavy lifting (deadlifts etc) at the gym very often and other sports that put strain on my back.

Do you guys think it would be worth appealing this? I have already started to keep a record diary of exercises and workouts I do for my back and I am looking into a private examination of my back to prove that the back pain was only an issue when growing and I am now fine.
Thanks

 

[Ninja_Stoker]

Definitely worth a shot, assuming you have the evidence to back up your claim you are fully mobile and have been symptom and pain-free for several years without issue.

Firstly you'll need a letter from your GP or consultant to confirm you are pain and symptom-free, fully recovered and have been since dd/mm/yyyy.

Chronic basically means "recurrent or persistent" so usually this means if you took extended periods off school or work, were prescribed painkillers several times and suffered over a long period, then that means there's a high chance of recurrence under the rigours of initial training and indeed throughout your military career.

A prolonged training diary over several months involving impact CV, such as road running and also perhaps walking with weight, carrying out sit-ups, swims etc., is a good starting point - particularly if you can download the mapped data, with times, routes, distances and dates such as a file off an app such as Map My Run or one of these fangled fitbit watches or similar, it's far better than a handwritten diary.

Once you have all the data/evidence on paper, write a covering letter to your AFCO acknowledging the medical rejection letter dated dd/mm/yyyy, include your full name, date of birth and unique reference number (if known), requesting your case is reviewed by the service entry medical cell.

Around 70-80% of medical appeals which provide substantial evidence in support of the case for review are successful. No verifiable evidence - No go.

Best of luck.

 

[Ray1218]

Definitely worth a shot, assuming you have the evidence to back up your claim you are fully mobile and have been symptom and pain-free for several years without issue.

Firstly you'll need a letter from your GP or consultant to confirm you are pain and symptom-free, fully recovered and have been since dd/mm/yyyy.

Chronic basically means "recurrent or persistent" so usually this means if you took extended periods off school or work, were prescribed painkillers several times and suffered over a long period, then that means there's a high chance of recurrence under the rigours of initial training and indeed throughout your military career.

A prolonged training diary over several months involving impact CV, such as road running and also perhaps walking with weight, carrying out sit-ups, swims etc., is a good starting point - particularly if you can download the mapped data, with times, routes, distances and dates such as a file off an app such as Map My Run or one of these fangled fitbit watches or similar, it's far better than a handwritten diary.

Once you have all the data/evidence on paper, write a covering letter to your AFCO acknowledging the medical rejection letter dated dd/mm/yyyy, include your full name, date of birth and unique reference number (if known), requesting your case is reviewed by the service entry medical cell.

Around 70-80% of medical appeals which provide substantial evidence in support of the case for review are successful. No verifiable evidence - No go.

Best of luck.

Thank you very much for the advice and guidance. Im already in the URNU so I’m going to include that in my appeal as evidence of physical activity

 

[Ninja_Stoker]

Thank you very much for the advice and guidance. Im already in the URNU so I’m going to include that in my appeal as evidence of physical activity

Fair one. I was Coxswain at Oxford urnu many moons ago and can confirm that at last orders, Usain Bolt would've come second.