Knee Injuries - Failed Medical?

bottletopper

Hi guys,

I posted this elsewhere but it was in the wrong place. (Apologies mods!)

I've passed IST and have a date for A/C. Not wanting to get too far ahead of myself but I was wondering if anybody has any knowledge of the medical process. I have an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injury in my left knee from 2002. Never operated on. I can run, sprint and turn and can do a 5k in 28 minutes.

Would having an injury like this be an automatic fail at the medical stage? Does anyone here (currently serving or previous failed medical) have any previous experience with the medical and this specific injury?

All advice greatly welcome.

wannabe2010

bottletopper wrote: »

Hi guys,

I posted this elsewhere but it was in the wrong place. (Apologies mods!)

I've passed IST and have a date for A/C. Not wanting to get too far ahead of myself but I was wondering if anybody has any knowledge of the medical process. I have an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injury in my left knee from 2002. Never operated on. I can run, sprint and turn and can do a 5k in 28 minutes.

Would having an injury like this be an automatic fail at the medical stage? Does anyone here (currently serving or previous failed medical) have any previous experience with the medical and this specific injury?

All advice greatly welcome.

They will obv go thru your medical records and certain things such as this will probably flag up. They will probably then make you do a series of tests to ensure you will not be hindered at all in your duty. I applied for the army before and because I had a serious shoulder injury in the past, they would need to see that my dr had come to a solid conclusion that my treatment was complete and that I was ok etc. It still clicks and is tender in the cold lol but I can still use it basically with no issue.

bottletopper

Cheers wannabe. Have you got to the medical stage before? I see you've participated in previous campaigns.

Its my first time and I'm not sure its worth going through all the hassle and worry just to be told no at the medical. (Look at my arrogance in stating that I'd even get that far!)

wannabe2010

bottletopper wrote: »

Cheers wannabe. Have you got to the medical stage before? I see you've participated in previous campaigns.

Its my first time and I'm not sure its worth going through all the hassle and worry just to be told no at the medical. (Look at my arrogance in stating that I'd even get that far!)

No unfortunately I failed AC the first and last time I did it in 2010. But the army is stricter than police, they ended up refusing me cuz I have asthma even tho I can beat the male time requirement for 5k..

Get to the dr asap, a dead on one that u trust to be straight with u. Ask him to look at the case of ur knee and to basically CLEAR you ON RECORD if possible. That's what I did..

wannabe2010

If you have full range of movementand can lift/push/pull heavy weights without a problem then it should be ok..

bottletopper

Good advice. Will do. I went to the doctor about it about 8 years ago. Put me through scans and all sorts and eventually offered me an optional operation which I refused. (Consultant said there was no need if I wasn't going to be playing football at the level I was previously at).

Thinking back, I maybe should have taken the operation. Ah well, time to get it looked at again. Hopefully the doc says its okay. Fingers crossed.

But first, the AC! Nerve wracking wouldn't be in it!

VES86

i actually still have my medical form ( a couple of campaigns back i was invited to a medical and vetted but then got dear johned before the date of my medical) so i'll hoke it out and see what it asks about such injuries. the form does need filled in along with your gp so get them to tell you how the knee is 100% straight up. if he thinks your grand keep going,if its a no then go no further but if they say it may be a while, that maybe you could use an operation before its 100% keep going especially as its your first time. its all a learning experience. I've said this else where for first timers, use it as learning curve and don't get too disheartened when you get the no as more likely than not it will be a no as getting into hotel G on the first go is as rare as a unicorn that poops 100quid notes. I myself am using this as a learning experience for the new Ac as i dont think i will pass the medical as im having some medical investigations done currently.

wannabe2010

bottletopper wrote: »

Good advice. Will do. I went to the doctor about it about 8 years ago. Put me through scans and all sorts and eventually offered me an optional operation which I refused. (Consultant said there was no need if I wasn't going to be playing football at the level I was previously at).
To
Thinking back, I maybe should have taken the operation. Ah well, time to get it looked at again. Hopefully the doc says its okay. Fingers crossed.

But first, the AC! Nerve wracking wouldn't be in it!

It's been a good while then! Yeah I was offered an op but refused as it was 60% likely to make it worse

As the ligment basically joins ur femur to your tibia it would make knee extension quite difficult yeah? Have you followed any kind of flexibility training at all? Few weeks of that, gradually introduce more weight-baring movements and then add in some light strength conditioning.. exercise is the prevention and cure for like 90% of medical problems in the world!

bottletopper

Cheers VES. I'm not expecting much out of this application but if I'm lucky to pass AC I would like the window of opportunity to be open. I don't know if anyone else has experienced it, but it seems like it would be absolutely gutting to have gone through the whole process, get an offer and then fail the medical.

Cheers for the hoking of the medical form.

I'll let y'all know what the doc says.

bottletopper

My knee is actually not bad (in my opinion!) I don't put a lot of pressure on it whilst twisting for example and I wouldn't over-load it doing a turn whilst running. For straight line running/sprinting it holds up fine.

What do you mean by knee extension? Extension to the front, or side to side?

wannabe2010

bottletopper wrote: »

My knee is actually not bad (in my opinion!) I don't put a lot of pressure on it whilst twisting for example and I wouldn't over-load it doing a turn whilst running. For straight line running/sprinting it holds up fine.

What do you mean by knee extension? Extension to the front, or side to side?

Well if it's fine then even better! Extending your knee, like straightening it out so that your quads/thighs tense up..

I'm a PT ya seeeeee.. love injuries lol well love fixing them

wannabe2010

If you can do decent squats then you're definitely grand lol

bottletopper

Oh yeah, I can do that grand! Its just the side to side and twisting that would go for the bugger but I've learned over the years to manage that when running/playing 5 a side.

bottletopper

Sounds hopeful. Cheers wannabe. I'll crack on to the AC and get an app with the Doc on. Hopefully he can get me another MRI to see where the knee is at medically now. I'd say the surrounding muscles have strengthened over the years of providing extra support to the knee itself.

(All this hassle for a rainy day and a soggy pitch in Limavady...surely wasn't worth it, and we got tanked 4-1 as well.)

VES86

under back,joint and related conditions Q24-29

have you had any past or current history of the following: (Y/N)

25. any knee pain,foot pain, injury or dislocation to any joint?
27. any other cause of muscle or joint pain?
28. have you ever consulted an orthopaedic surgeon,physiotherapist, chiropractor or osteopath?

at the end of the section theres a comment box to fill in

a. what was the condition
b.when did you have it
c.how often did you have it
d. how long did you have it
e.who treated the condition
f. what was the treatment
g. do you still require treatment

the last section if for the gp most questions are about your medical records except for

is there any medical reason why the patient should not undertake strenuous physical exercise or undertake a maximal fitness assessment?

That right there is what you need to ask your gp because his answer to that would be the be all..

wannabe2010

bottletopper wrote: »

Oh yeah, I can do that grand! Its just the side to side and twisting that would go for the bugger but I've learned over the years to manage that when running/playing 5 a side.

Hmm.. I don't like the word "manage" lol this indicates that you've trained yourself to move in a certain way to protect your pain area, which would in turn have an adverse effect on surrounding previously healthy muscles, which they WILL notice as they have set movements for you that will find any failures or weaknesses.

All is not lost however! You should start for a couple weeks, stretching SLOWLY and GENTLY in the directions that you are restricted on. Slowly increase your range of movement and then when ur ready, start walking NORMALLY on it, without trying to protect urself. Then when ready, start actually strengthening it. Ask ur drs advice on that first tho.. but just if you have trouble with those movements, they will find out! Stretching and all that I said will help it if not fix it

bottletopper

Awesome information VES. Thanks very much. Off to see the GP next thursday morning and I'll quote what you said.

Cheers!

bottletopper

I'd say you're right wannabe. I'll try to get the doc to refer me to physio to get the stretches you're talking about sorted. Its twisting that is the only problem I have but I don't wanna be messing with that in case I do it the wrong way.

On another note, I don't think I've ever done a stretching exercise that is designed to twist the knee and strengthen it. I've done all the others with football; calves, hamstrings, quads etc but never one focusing on the knee joint.