These cookies are essential so that you can move around the website and use its features. When the spinal canal is obstructed due to spinal stenosis, abnormal narrowing occurs. Contact a VA attorney who can assist you wherever you live and without regard to whether you were deployed. By using our website, you agree to the use of certain cookies. The three elements needed to make a successful service connection claim include: When assessing your disability claims, VA examiners will look at your medical records during your time in the military and for a period afterward for evidence of a service connection. Spinal conditions can cause nerve problems as well. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Spinal stenosis can arise from both degenerative conditions (such as arthritis, bulging discs, and herniated discs) and physical injury, such as bone fragments, dislocated vertebrae, or swollen tissues. The spinal cord can be squeezed causing pain and numbness in the back or weakness in one or both legs. While we still have our home base in Florida, Registration is FREE of charge! Become an All-Access Member to access this page, other exclusive content, the ability to our Military Disability Experts, course discounts, and more! As mentioned above, many different joints are rated under the rating criteria for degenerative arthritis. What Is Foraminal Stenosis And Can I Qualify For Benefits? If a doctor doesnt use a goniometer to measure your ROM, In addition to the ROM measurements, the general rating criteria for spinal involves whether the cervical and/or thoracolumbar spine is frozen in a favorable vs. unfavorable position. The information these cookies collect will not personally identify you, and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites. Another way to connect your disability to your service is to show that you had been diagnosed with spinal stenosis prior to your service, and the condition worsened during your service. VA Disability Rating for Neck Pain | The Tuley Law Office Over time, you will attend additional annual exams at an area SCI Center. Spinal stenosis is a disorder that affects your back. Other causes of spinal stenosis may include: Arguably the most important part of the VA disability claims process is establishing service connection. Canes range from $25 to $100 and walkers can be more than $200. Lumbar Stenosis Symptoms Numbness or tingling in your arm or leg, weakness in your arm or leg, pain or cramping in your legs when you walk, and back pain. Case Info Step 2. I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction with spinal issues and VA ratings. have the greatest impact on the veterans ability to work. Spondylolisthesis and Spondylolysis - Entitlement Eligibility Abnormal growths can form inside the spinal cord, within the membranes that cover the spinal cord or in the space between the spinal cord and vertebrae. We use cookies to optimize our website and our service. The VA rates spinal stenosis disability claims according to its General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. Rheumatoid arthritis of the spine leads to neck pain, back pain, and sometimes causes pain to radiate into the arms and legs. The ROM measurement is the maximum angle that you can move in each direction before reaching your physical limits or experiencing severe pain. A 40% VA Rating for the Lumbar Spine - YouTube This misdiagnosis can affect a later disability claim for spinal stenosis, although it can be countered by evidence showing the diagnosis was, in fact, made in error. VA Disability Rating Levels and Compensation Amounts for Spinal Injury. Deland, FL: 1607 South State Road 15A Suite 12 Deland, FL 32720, Satellite Offices VA Ratings For Spinal Arthritis & Back Pain. Stenosis can occur in the spinal column itself, or it can occur within the intervertebral foramen, which are the passages through which your nerve roots branch out laterally through the spine. A, Oftentimes, spinal conditions will cause other conditions, and these conditions qualify a Veteran for another rating. This makes sense because a spine frozen in an unfavorable position would place the greatest stress on the body and have the greatest impact on the veterans ability to work. Call 512-454-4000 for help today. This means that a 10% VA disability rating for spinal stenosis plus 60% VA disability rating for peripheral nerve disability in an arm will produce an overall VA disability rating of 60%. Stenosis can occur in the cervical or c-spine (neck) and lumbar (lower back) areas of the spine. Typically, this would be established by medical records from your time in the military showing that your condition worsened. Favorable position means your spine is locked but more or less vertical, so you can still sit at a desk chair, for example. Pain, numbness, tingling, muscle weakness, and loss of motor control are some of the symptoms of the condition. Back Pain VA Rating: A Guide to Spinal Injuries - Hill & Ponton, P.A. Some examples of cervical conditions that are rated under this code include the following: Diagnostic Code 5237 Cervical Strain A torn tendon or muscle in the neck. Berry Law is a team full of Veterans, with attorneys from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Getting Veterans (VA) Disability for Spinal Injuries, Radiculopathy VA Disability Ratings and Benefits, VA Disability Ratings for Neck Pain Explained. Reduce VA's Disability Benefits to Veterans Who Are Older Than the Full Contact Us To collect VA disability compensation benefits, you must show that your spinal stenosis disability claim was caused or aggravated by your military service. Call (855) 873-2604 For a Free Evaluation of Your Spinal Stenosis Disability Case. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. VA/DoD CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINE FOR DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF LOW BACK PAIN Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Defense . These cookies collect information about how you use our website. In all other cases, the ROM measurements of the lumbar spine are rated separately from the ROM measurements of the cervical spine. The RO also assigned an initial 40 percent rating for the disability effective November 8, 2006. The cervical spine (neck) and the thoracolumbar spine (low back) are rated according to the following criteria: Flexion 45 degrees, OR combined ROM 340 degrees, Flexion 90 degrees, OR combined ROM 240 degrees, Flexion between 30 and 45 degrees, OR combined ROM between 175 and 340 degrees, Flexion between 60 and 90 degrees, OR combined ROM between 125 and 240 degrees, Flexion between 15 and 35 degrees, OR combined ROM 170 degrees, Flexion between 30 and 65 degrees, OR combined ROM 120 degrees, Flexion 15 degrees, OR entire cervical spine is frozen in a favorable position, Entire cervical spine is frozen in an unfavorable position, Flexion 30 degrees, OR entire thoracolumbar spine is frozen in a favorable position, Entire thoracolumbar spine is frozen in an unfavorable position, Entire spine is frozen in an unfavorable position. Depending on what joint is affected, there will be an identifying diagnostic code assigned to the condition. The New Rating System for Back and Neck Spinal Disability - Lawyer More importantly, when both the lumbar spine and cervical spine are affected by spinal stenosis, the two may be separately rated unless both are frozen in an unfavorable position. Many people only think about their medical issues when applying for Social Security disability. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for chronic low back If your back is not frozen, VA doctors will base their assessment on how much range of motion you have left, which they will measure with a goniometer. Please complete this form to send us your message. Learn How Veterans Can Get VA Benefits for Back Pain Without these cookies, services you have asked for cannot be provided. Free Disability Evaluation: Step 1. VA uses 38 CFR 4.71a, General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine to evaluate most neck pain conditions. If your MRIs dont show a significant stenosis, but you are experiencing severe back pain that still inhibits your ability to work, and you have intervertebral disc syndrome, you may be able to get a higher rating due to incapacitating episodes. Get Directions. Incomplete paralysis can be determined as severe, moderately severe, moderate, or mild with disability ratings as low as 10 percent. The latter two will show whether soft tissue may be impinging or invading the spinal cord area. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Because there are technically two diagnostic codes associated with one condition, you would see the condition listed on rating decisions as 5242-5003. VA Disability Rating for Degenerative Disc Disease Explained (The However, it can also be caused by herniated discs, thickened ligaments in your spine, tumors, and spinal injuries. When symptoms are present, they usually start gradually and worsen over time. Theres no presumptive benefit the burden is on the veteran to demonstrate a service connection to the stenosis. This includes the shoulder, wrist, elbow, hip, knee ankle, fingers, toes, spine, and the sacroiliac joint. Please register to post comments. Both degenerative arthritis and traumatic arthritis, regardless of the joint affected, are rated under diagnostic code 5003. VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. bulging, herniated, or degenerated disc and request a re-calculation, Get Our Team Started Reviewing Your Case for Free Today, you should talk to a VA Disability law attorney first, Nervous System Conditions VA Disability Articles, Woods and Woods fought hard for this Army Veteran. In extreme cases, spinal stenosis can cause incontinence or constipation if the compressed nerve controls the muscles surrounding the bladder or bowel, respectively. The VA disability rating for spinal stenosis will be based on both individual ROM measurements and the total ROM measurement. The RO assigned an initial 10 percent rating for the disability, effective June 13, 1994. However, generally speaking, symptoms may include the following: Most often, spinal stenosis is caused by overuse or general wear-and-tear changes in the spine related to osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is rated under its own rating system. means your spine is locked but more or less vertical, so you can still sit at a desk chair, for example. Spinal stenosis caused by IVDS qualifies for a separate IVDS disability rating and you are entitled to the higher of the two ratings. Degenerative arthritis is the chronic breakdown of the cartilage surrounding the joints. Traumatic arthritis causes symptoms similar to other types of arthritis such as pain, inflammation, and build-up of fluid around the affected joint. When this evidence is presented to the VA, it may be possible to obtain VA disability benefits. Whether it manifests itself in your back or through nerve pain throughout your extremities, a VA attorney can help you to obtain the medical examination and collect the records to support your VA disability claim. When the nerves are compressed, electrical signals passing along those nerves can become disrupted. We get emails all the time asking if certain health problems qualify for benefits. Symptoms vary depending on the location of the stenosis and which nerves are affected. Most issues that cause temporary (not chronic) back pain receive a VA disability rating between 10%-40%. This can lead to a misdiagnosis of spinal stenosis. Service-connected disabilities are disabilities that manifested during your service, regardless of when your diagnosis occurred, or was diagnosed prior to your service and was worsened by your service. Veterans & Spinal Stenosis Disability Rating 888.878.9350 A fair VA disability rating for spinal stenosis can be difficult to obtain. Is Cervical Spinal Stenosis A Disability? - Ortiz Law Firm Most of the time, spinal stenosis occurs in the lower back and the neck. By using this information, you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship created by you reading or using the information contained on this website or in this newsletter, article, or blog. If you are concerned that your VA disability percentage for spinal stenosis fails to account for the extent of your disability, you may wish to speak to a VA benefits lawyer. According to Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center, spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the space where the nerves run through your spine, causing pain by putting extra pressure on these spinal nerves. The diagnostic code for traumatic arthritis is 5010. Flexion 45 degrees, OR combined ROM 340 degrees, Flexion 90 degrees, OR combined ROM 240 degrees, Flexion between 30 and 45 degrees, OR combined ROM between 175 and 340 degrees, Flexion between 60 and 90 degrees, OR combined ROM between 150 and 240 degrees, Flexion between 15 and 35 degrees, OR combined ROM 170%, Flexion between 30 and 60 degrees OR combined ROM of 120%. Appellant. An. To find out more, view our Privacy Policy. You may also qualify for a 100% rating if your back injury renders you unemployable. Unlike a back injury that is caused by muscle, ligament, or bone damage, the effects of spinal stenosis are felt primarily in the nerves of the spinal cord. These complications of stenosis are called. Agent Orange exposure and VA disability compensation The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. 5239 - VA disability rating for Spondylolisthesis or segmental instability: A condition that causes a vertebra to slide forward over the bone below it.
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