As any Veteran with a musculoskeletal disability knows, symptoms can fluctuate from day to day. This means that your range of motion may be impacted by symptom flare-ups, making it difficult to accurately represent your symptoms during a Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam.
Medical professionals can assess your range of motion in two ways: passive or assisted active range of motion. When you use the external power to move a joint, it’s a passive range of motion, such as when a physical therapist moves your joints during treatment.
How the VA Rates Range of Motion
The VA will most likely determine your disability rating based on various factors. However, the most crucial factor is your degree of limitation in range of motion. The evaluation for VA disability for limited range of motion involves a comprehensive assessment of the impact of restricted movement on an individual’s daily activities and overall quality of life, considering the specific joint or body part affected by the impairment.
For example, a Veteran with back pain caused by tendonitis would likely qualify for a 10% or 20% disability rating. The reason is that the pain caused by this condition directly results from limitations in your spine’s flexion or extension movement.
Your VA examiner will test your range of motion and check whether or not you experience flare-ups of your symptoms. An explosion may cause the symptoms to temporarily increase in severity, which could lead to a higher disability rating.
After your initial review, the VA will determine if you need more documentation for your claim. You will receive a notice explaining the additional evidence it needs from you. It’s best to provide the requested information so your claim can proceed smoothly.
What Is the VA’s Schedule of Ratings?
After examining your medical records, VA adjudicators will assign you a disability rating that reflects the severity of your service-connected injury or disease. This is important because your rating will determine your monthly VA compensation.
The ratings are based on the difficulty you have moving your body. For example, if you can forcibly move your neck and upper back but experience severe pain, you could qualify for a 40% rating. However, if you cannot even move your lower and middle back or have an unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine, you might qualify for a 100% rating.
Combined ratings are also available for veterans with more than one service-connected disability. In these cases, VA examiners use a specific formula to calculate your combined disability rating. The higher your combined rating, the more money you can receive. A veteran benefits attorney can help you prove your eligibility for a combination rating.
What Is the VA’s Schedule of Ratings for the Cervical Spine?
If a Veteran’s cervical spine disability is severe, they may be eligible for a 100% rating. To determine your rating, doctors will check how far you can move the neck forward (flexion), backward (extension), and side-to-side (lateral flexion). To make this measurement accurate, doctors use a tool called a goniometer.
Depending on your symptoms, the VA will assign you a specific rating for the upper back (thoracolumbar), lower back (lumbar), or neck (cervical). The VA’s Schedule of Ratings for spine disabilities takes into account a combination of factors, including:
To get started with your claim, contact a firm specializing in veterans’ disability claims to request a Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam from a VA medical examiner. They will review your health records and conduct an in-person examination to establish the severity of your condition and its link to in-service occurrences. Upon completing their study, the C&P examiner will provide a nexus opinion stating whether your situation is service-connected.
What Is the VA’s Schedule of Ratings for the Thoracolumbar Spine?
When medical examiners look at your neck and back (cervical and thoracolumbar spine), they’re primarily interested in how much you can move. This is called “Range of Motion,” or ROM. Examiners typically test your movement by using a tool called a goniometer.
Some spinal conditions can lead to secondary infections, such as nerve damage and pain in other body parts. These are called radiculopathy, which might cause weakness in the arms, legs, or hips. The VA can rate these secondary disabilities separately, but they can also be included in your rating for the spinal condition that caused them. For example, a veteran got a 40% disability rating under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine for a right-sided disc bulge at L5-S1 with chronic low back pain and unfavorable ankylosis of the thoracolumbar spine. He was also rated for spondylolisthesis, or segmental instability, which causes one bone to slip forward over the successive vertebrae and squeeze the spinal cord. This was coded under VA diagnostic code 5235.