Hey everyone I'm a sophomore in high school wanting to go to USNA, and was diagnosed with spondylolysis, or pars fractures in my L4 and L5 vertebrae. The doctors said the one on L5 will never heal but I won't have pain in it and the one on L4 should heal. The doctor also said I would be cleared to do ALL activities in 6 months. Would this DQ me or have any impact on the application process? Thanks.
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spondylolysis/pars stress fracture
- Thread starter jakobfns
- Start date
The short answer is yes. This condition is an automatic DQ in the DoDMERB process. You may be able to obtain a waiver as DAW indicates, but there are also situations and conditions that can make a waiver unlikely or impossible. My son got a waiver at USMA for the same condition, but we know of a USNA candidate that did not. Here are a few of suggestions. First, don't assume your doctor understands the military's medical requirements. Most do not, so find an orthopedic doctor with experience in both spondylolysis and the military to get another evaluation. Second, search these boards for other info about this condition and the waiver process. There are a number of proactive steps you can take to improve your chances of obtaining a waiver. Starting the process assuming things will go smoothly is risky if for no other reason than you will not have much time if your case gets complicated. Third, do your own research on spondylolysis. There is plenty of info on the web that will help you understand why this condition is an automatic DQ and the risks to your back of an active lifestyle. There are a variety of surgical solutions, but only a few that can gain a waiver from any branch of the military. Given you have fractures at more than one level, you might want to consider these to prevent future back issues.
Hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions as you move forward with your journey.
Hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions as you move forward with your journey.
jenmarshall1974
Member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2016
- Messages
- 28
My son had an unexpected surgery in October after getting Appointment to USMMA. Essentially, some scar tissue from his appendectomy at age 6 stuck on to his intestine, causing an occasional partial obstruction. So he had surgery & Doctor just clipped it off. On the CT scan to diagnose this, the report noted he also had this spondylolysis condition. The surgeon wrote a letter saying the odds were basically zero that he'd ever have trouble again. We took him to orthopedic doctor who did an X-ray on his back & found no abnormalities. His waiver was granted. I'm wondering if he gets an Appointment to USNA (we're still waiting), if they would also grant the waiver?
Naval Architect Wannabe
Member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2015
- Messages
- 63
Were you able to get the waiver?My son had an unexpected surgery in October after getting Appointment to USMMA. Essentially, some scar tissue from his appendectomy at age 6 stuck on to his intestine, causing an occasional partial obstruction. So he had surgery & Doctor just clipped it off. On the CT scan to diagnose this, the report noted he also had this spondylolysis condition. The surgeon wrote a letter saying the odds were basically zero that he'd ever have trouble again. We took him to orthopedic doctor who did an X-ray on his back & found no abnormalities. His waiver was granted. I'm wondering if he gets an Appointment to USNA (we're still waiting), if they would also grant the waiver?