Citation Nr: 18140232
Decision Date: 10/02/18	Archive Date: 10/02/18

DOCKET NO. 16-30 515
DATE:	October 2, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from November 1991 to June 1994.  This matter came before the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office. 
Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability is remanded.
The Veteran has not yet been provided a VA examination regarding his low back disability.  He has a current diagnosis of low back degenerative disc disease, which he contends was caused by running in boots during service.  He also contends that he had pain in his lower legs and back while on company runs at Fort Bragg and was placed on a running profile after a visit to sick call.  December 1993 service treatment records document that he was placed on a running profile and note shin splints.  While the service treatment records are silent for back pain, the Board notes that the Veteran is competent to report symptoms such as back pain.  As the Veteran has a current low back disability and has submitted statements regarding back pain in service associated with his documented running profile, remand for a VA examination is required.  McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 81 (2006).  
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records for the period from January 2015 to the Present.
2. Schedule the Veteran for an appropriate VA examination, to determine the etiology of any current low back disability.  The examiner should review the file and provide a complete rationale for all opinions expressed.  
For any current low back disability diagnosed, the examiner should provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that any such disability is related to the Veteran’s active service, to include allegations of running in boots at Fort Bragg.  In providing the opinion, the examiner should consider and discuss any lay statements of record, to include the Veteran’s statements regarding the onset and persistence of his symptoms.  
3. If upon completion of the above action the appeal remains denied, the case should be returned to the Board after compliance with appellate procedures.
 
E. I. VELEZ
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	A. Arnold, Associate Counsel