I am about to start my MSII year under a 3.5 year scholarship in army ROTC. I have suffered a lower back injury in the middle of my first semester, which has resulted in me doing very limited activity and doing profile PT all second semester. I wasn’t able to run, lift, do ab workouts, or pushups because they all hurt my back, to the point where I had to take the elevator to get to my dorm room. I’ve gone to 3 orthopedic surgeons and had two courses of PT in the past 10 months, with no results. (It is important to mention that I’ve had a history of back injuries prior to joining ROTC and was at first medically disqualified from ROTC due to spondylolysis but obtained a waiver from DoDMERB). When I left school after my MSI year, the doctor I was seeing at the time wrote a note to my cadre saying that they couldn’t find anything to diagnose or treat my back. Because of this I could return to activity despite the pain.
I just recently went to a back and spine doctor who gave me two separate steroid injections, which helped very little. I’m still not able to run without severe pain and have been told by therapists, to hold off from running for the time being. The problem is that this is what I’ve been told to do for the past 10 months. My injury has not improved over the course of the 10 months and I begin to wonder if it will anytime soon, especially since I’ve now seen 3 orthopedic surgeons, one back and spine specialist and two therapists.
I am about to head back for first semester of my MSII year and have many doubts in my ability to be physically capable of participating in ROTC. I fear that once I go back and tell my cadre about the treatment I’ve received over the summer I will be medically disenrolled because of the injury but also because of my prior back injury history.
-Would I have to reimburse the army if I was medically discharged?
-Is it even worth it to go back if I am more than likely going to be medically disenrolled from ROTC?
I just recently went to a back and spine doctor who gave me two separate steroid injections, which helped very little. I’m still not able to run without severe pain and have been told by therapists, to hold off from running for the time being. The problem is that this is what I’ve been told to do for the past 10 months. My injury has not improved over the course of the 10 months and I begin to wonder if it will anytime soon, especially since I’ve now seen 3 orthopedic surgeons, one back and spine specialist and two therapists.
I am about to head back for first semester of my MSII year and have many doubts in my ability to be physically capable of participating in ROTC. I fear that once I go back and tell my cadre about the treatment I’ve received over the summer I will be medically disenrolled because of the injury but also because of my prior back injury history.
-Would I have to reimburse the army if I was medically discharged?
-Is it even worth it to go back if I am more than likely going to be medically disenrolled from ROTC?