Will having Perthes disease prevent me from joining the military?

Question

I have had Perthes disease in my left hip since I was about 4 or 5 years old. I was forced into a wheelchair for a year, and then I had to use crutches for another.

For those who are not familiar with it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legg-Calvé-Perthes_syndrome gives you the idea.

Now though, due to treatment when I was young, and when the hip was still developing, I am able to walk with no pain or difficulty. I can run and sprint like anyone else; infact, I'm above average in speed (although perhaps not stamina) than most people.

The doctors continue to tell me that I am likely to eventually (Not sooner than my 50's though) require a major hip replacement. They ask me to abstain from activies such as long distance running, hiking, cycling, and contact sports.

When I do occasionally go against their advice, I rarely experience any negative effects. The most my hip has ever recently bothered me is after a 14 mile hike where I suffered from mild pain (which quickly faded) in the night following.

Now I've given you my background, I ask if this is enough to stop me from joining the Military. I'm British if that helps, but i'm pretty sure that the entry requirements into the Miltary are pretty similar for all countries.

I also add, if it was not sufficient enough to prevent me joining an Infantry regiment, would it be enough to stop me joining a special forces unit, which for me would be the SAS.

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

Hi

Are you still under the care of an orthopaedic surgeon?  Can you make an appointment to talk to a career advisor about this - maybe from the army?

My feeling is that if you are quite capable of participating to your fullest ability in virtually every area of life, then you should at least give this a go, if that is what you want to do.  Be totally up-front with them though.

I am assuming that you have had no surgery for perthes either?  Chances are that your hips look reasonably normal, if it was a mild enough case to not need surgery, although there is likely to be some widening and shortening of the femoral neck (just below the femoral head/ball part of the hip joint).  

Have a look at the site I set up below for information about perthes and longterm prognosis, particularly on the page called 'Online support groups & info' - scroll down to read what happens as an adult.

All the best

Donna