Diver in my case, after my injury, I was doing train up for Iraq. Constantly wearing the IBAS I would position myself in a manner to make the pain bare able. I'm surprised that my liver and kidney's weren't shot with how many OTC anti-imflammortories that I was taking at the time. I just grinned and bared it and I can tell you that was a big mistake on my part. I should have gotten more treatment from the get go. But when your young and prideful, well this is where I am now. I disagree with the VA doc but I am not a dr. When I got ejected from the HMMV, I landed on my back and left hip and rolled a few times. I crushed a few vertebrae and wound up with a cervical and lumbar strain. It wasn't until I got back after Iraq and saw X-rays of my spine did I see what damage was done. I was in pain daily with the body armor. Again I just sucked it up. Chiropractor, steroid shots, OTC meds and the like. Till one day in 2012 my back went out and it's been really downhill from there. Traumatic injury to bones take a while to take there toll. The streroid shots barely offer any relief, chiropractor, facet blocks, epidurals, bi lateral medial branch blocks, physical therapy, TENS units, lidocane, even rhyzotomies don't help much. Even the narcotic meds don't do much but make me loopy. It is a bear to live with most days. My private docs have been helping me with the medical evidence, as well as advice from this forum and the help of my attorney.
Anyways didn't mean to give you me sob story. My point is with the injury, Osteoarthitis or traumatic arthritis can take years to show up and it causes a great deal of complications from sciatica, pain, numbness, muscle spasms, and the like. Myself I have bi lateral radiculopathy in both legs. Pain and numbness that shoots down the legs. Mostly for me it is my left side but I do have that happen in both legs. From about my T5- down to S1, I have problems with the disks and vertebrae. Spine injuries are no joke and unless someone has one they don't really understand and fully comprehend the ramifications of such an injury. It can be tied together, your gait and walk will be affected by the injury and will cause a lot of secondary issues. I know my situation and I have done many of hours of research. However, this is king here, you are going to need a doctor to connect the dots for you with the injury and that the injury is causing all of these secondaries. Evidence and continuity of treatment is ever important. The better you have your evidence, medical and the like organized, the smoother and easier it will be to fight the VA. I will warn you that the process is long. Years. But it is not a good fight if it is not a long one.
Well I'm going to go take a happy pill. I hope this is of some help. Good luck and keep fighting. Fight till your last breath.