Because c-spine stenosis is a degenerative illness, a person's condition will continue to deteriorate . Getting Veterans (VA) Disability for Spinal Injuries | CCK Law Specifically, VA rates spinal stenosis according to its General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine, outlined below: 100% - unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Lawyers 6940 O St, Suite 400 Lincoln, NE 68510. You should know that it's impossible to get disability benefits if you aren't . After recovery, the VA will re-evaluate their condition. You could be entitled to $3,627 per month! Conversely, when the lumbar spine (the lower section of the back) is affected, symptoms may cause pain and nerve sensations in the back, legs, and feet. Is Spinal Stenosis A Permanent Disability | Disability Help An unfavorable position means your spine is locked in a position that is something other than vertical. 203, San Jose, CA 95134 The small openings in your spine are called foramen, and nerves pass through the foramen from your spinal cord into the rest of your body. Some joints are referred to as major joints, while others are referred to as minor joints. These cookies do not store any personal information. Getting Veterans (VA) Disability for Spinal Injuries, Radiculopathy VA Disability Ratings and Benefits, VA Disability Ratings for Neck Pain Explained. You may also be able to show your spinal stenosis is service-related via a secondary service connection. 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. VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Under the IVDS schedule, a VA disability rating can be obtained based on the number and frequency of incapacitated episodes in which bed rest is ordered by a physician. Vertebral fractures and dislocations (diagnostic code 5235). Tucson, AZ: One South Church Avenue, 12th Floor, Tucson, AZ, 85701 General VA Disability Compensation Benefits Claims Forums . When spinal stenosis manifests in the form of back pain and a frozen spine, obtaining a fair VA disability rating for spinal stenosis is primarily a matter of obtaining accurate ROM measurements of the cervical spine and lumbar spine. Favorable position means your spine is locked but more or less vertical, so you can still sit at a desk chair, for example. Spinal stenosis - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic In severe cases, it can lead to myelopathy, paralysis, bladder and bowel incontinence or retention, headaches, and other debilitating symptoms. 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. All rights reserved. The Top 3 Spinal Stenosis VA Rating Tips Explained (Ultimate Guide) If you are suffering from the effects of Spinal stenosis you may qualify for disability benefits. have the greatest impact on the veterans ability to work. Appeals to the Board of Veterans Appeals, Appeal to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Increase Veterans Affairs Disability Rating, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU), VA Mental Health: Legal Help for Veterans, Veterans Affairs Compensation for Sleep Apnea, VA Rating for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Symptoms, 2023 Veterans Affairs Disability Rate Increase, Have a current medical diagnosis for the disability, Have an in-service event or experience that led to the disability, Get a medical nexus connecting the in-service event to the current medical diagnosis. Less frequently, stenosis can occur in the upper back (thoracic). These cookies dont collect information that identifies you. Berry Law gets Veterans the disability compensation they earned. Your final VA rating for Degenerative Disc Disease depends upon the Frequency, Severity, and Duration of symptoms, including Painful Motion, Limitation of Range of Motion (ROM), and Functional Loss or Impairment. Examples of secondary conditions that may arise as complications of stenosis include radiculopathy, neurogenic bladder, and knee and hip problems caused by walking difficulties due to stenosis. 5238 Spinal stenosis - Veterans Benefits Network 38 CFR 4.71a - Schedule of ratings - LII / Legal Information Institute Entire cervical spine is frozen in an unfavorable position. Its never too late to apply for VA benefits. Contact a VA attorney who can assist you wherever you live and without regard to whether you were deployed. The SSA has a specific disability listing for lumbar stenosis. For example, 5241 spinal fusion VA rating and 5238 spinal stenosis VA rating are calculated entirely on the range of motion (ROM) of your back even though spinal fusion and spinal stenosis are very different conditions. Spine Condition Ratings. Given this variety of symptoms, it is easy to understand how spinal stenosis can be misdiagnosed. However, it can also be caused by herniated discs, thickened ligaments in your spine, tumors, and spinal injuries. Does Spinal Stenosis Qualify for Disability Benefits? To receive VA disability for spinal stenosis, like all other disabilities, a Veteran must first establish service connection for the injury. Finally, the general VA disability ratings table for spinal injuries and diseases allows ratings based on muscle guarding, muscle spasm, or tenderness in your back. To find out more, view our Privacy Policy. Intervertebral Disc Syndrome (IVDS) and VA Disability I want to thank Woods & Woods for not letting me give up. Thus, if the flexion ROM measurement produces a 40% VA disability percentage and the total ROM measurement produces a 30% VA disability percentage, the VA disability percentage for spinal stenosis would be 40%. The VA rating for degenerative disc disease typically is 20%, despite how much pain the condition may cause. It is rated under another diagnostic group. Your Condition Must be Connected to Your Service to Obtain a VA Disability Rating Spinal Stenosis, When it occurs in the cervical spine (the neck and upper section of the back). The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense guidelines are based upon the best information available at the time of publication. Neck Conditions: How To Get VA Disability - The Veterans Law Office How the VA Rates Spinal Stenosis in Florida? We guide our clients through the most difficult times in their lives with courtesy, respect, and professionalism. Both degenerative arthritis and traumatic arthritis, regardless of the joint affected, are rated under diagnostic code 5003. Entire thoracolumbar spine is frozen in an unfavorable position. Keep in mind that a Veterans disability law firm can work with you to build a claim for a higher rating. Camp Lejeune Lawsuit. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. 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. Most of the time, spinal stenosis occurs in the lower back and the neck. While these codes may seem important, the rating formula is the same whether you suffer from spinal stenosis, intervertebral disc syndrome, vertebral dislocation or fracture or another condition. Spinal stenosis is a medical condition in which the passages through which your nerves travel through your spine become narrow or partially blocked. The ROM measurement is the maximum angle that you can move in each direction before reaching your physical limits or experiencing severe pain. Spinal stenosis is a form of degenerative disc disease. All the disabilities stemming from spinal stenosis should be accounted for in a fair VA disability rating. As discussed above, nerve pain in the leg may be diagnosed as a leg injury rather than spinal stenosis. That is, your stenosis wasnt diagnosed at the time, but it likely came about as a result of an injury or illness that has been established as service-connected. These complications of stenosis are called. Portland, OR: 650 N. E. Holladay Street, Suite 1600, Portland, OR, 97232 Become an All-Access Member to access this page, other exclusive content, the ability to our Military Disability Experts, course discounts, and more! 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. Mayo Clinic notes that there are two different types of spinal stenosis: While occasionally a person suffering from spinal stenosis will show zero symptoms, often Veterans seeking VA disability compensation for spinal stenosis will display one or more of the following symptoms: Cervical Stenosis Symptoms Numbness or tingling in your arm or leg, weakness in your arm or leg, problems walking, neck pain, and bowel/bladder dysfunction. 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%. When your medical disability occurred during your service, it is almost always presumed to be service-connected. If you believe you may have been wrongly denied benefits, you may benefit from the services of a VA disability lawyer. Spinal stenosis caused by IVDS qualifies for a separate IVDS disability rating and you are entitled to the higher of the two ratings. 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. Forever Grateful, [K.S.]. QUALIFYING STATEMENTS . The total ROM measurement is merely the sum of the individual ROM measurements for each of the spine segments. Thus, when a bulging or herniated disc in the cervical spine region causes six weeks of incapacitating episodes per year, you would be eligible for a 60% VA disability rating for neck pain. You may be owed compensation. People with spinal conditions also often change how they walk to, If your spinal condition results in the development of a new disability or makes an existing disability worse, remember that you may be entitled to, In order to ensure that youre getting the most out of your disability claim, you need to understand how the VA rates your condition. The spinal cord can be squeezed causing pain and numbness in the back or weakness in one or both legs. If there is decreased range of motion of the cervical or thoracolumbar spine, the condition would be rated according to the general rating formula for the spine that is based off of range of motion measurements. VA Disability Rating for Back Pain | The Tuley Law Office Richmond, VA: 7400 Beaufont Springs Drive, Suite 300, Richmond, VA, 23225 Disability Benefits for Spinal Stenosis | Nolo When the nerves are compressed, electrical signals passing along those nerves can become disrupted. For example, a cervical spine with forward flexion of 15 produces a VA disability percentage of 30% and a lumbar spine with a total ROM of 120 produces a VA disability percentage of 20%, for an overall VA disability rating of 40%. Under the VAs rules, you can challenge a VA disability rating by asserting that the VA misapplied its schedule. I was injured in Iraq on Nov 19 ,2007, I filed my claims when I got home from Iraq, the V/A called me yesterday and told me that I got a 60% rating for. Spinal stenosis simply refers to the narrowing of the spinal canal which results in pain, weakness, and numbness when nerves are compressed. The attorneys at Berry Law Firm are dedicated to helping injured Veterans. Also, the VA requires that all ROM measurements be taken with a goniometer. VA disability rating rules treat all forms of spinal stenosis the same way, with the cause being irrelevant to the actual VA disability rating for spinal stenosis. So, they compensate them for the disability on a secondary basis. These cookies collect information about how you use our website. If spinal stenosis causes involuntary muscle reactions like these, a doctor can note them in your records and the VA can use them to arrive at a VA disability rating. If severe enough, anxiety and depression arising from a service-related condition may also qualify for an additional disability rating. As you can see, ROM measurements play a significant role in rating spinal conditions. Secondary service connection occurs when a service-connected disability causes another disability. For example, if the cervical spine ROM measurements are 15, 30, 0, 30, 45, and 45, the total ROM would be 165. About VA Disability Ratings | Veterans Affairs - VA.gov Home | Veterans This type of rejection can sometimes be overcome if you can point to a specific incident that worsened your condition. Yes No Acute, Subacute, or Chronic Diseases Prosthetic Implants and Resurfacing 1 Also entitled to special monthly compensation. As you can see, ROM measurements play a significant role in rating spinal conditions. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); My name is [K.S]. If your spine is locked in an unfavorable position, you may qualify for a relatively high disability rating as high as 100%. This narrowing can be caused by physical injury or degeneration of the spine.