These cookies collect information about how you use our website. QUALIFYING STATEMENTS . Evidence of diagnosis of your spinal stenosis while you were in the military; Information about an occurrence or an incident that occurred while you were serving led to the injury or aggravation of this injury; Medical nexus a medical description that connects the diagnosed stenosis with the particular occurrence that is said to lead to it. Your spinal stenosis may be accompanied by other back conditions, including degenerative disc disease, arthritis, ankylosis or ankylosing spondylitis. Use our VA disability calculator to estimate your. For example, if your spinal stenosis is caused by a bulging disc, herniated disc, or other degenerative disc condition, you may get a better rating for intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS). . 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. This data may be used to help optimize our websites and make them easier for you to navigate. The disability rating is the highest rating produced by the rating tables. The sum of all these degree measurements together is called the ROM (range of motion) measurement. Depending on what joint is affected, there will be an identifying diagnostic code assigned to the condition. If there is painful motion, a 10% rating will be assigned. For example: Suppose you were diagnosed with whiplash as a result of a Humvee accident while you were in the service. To continue receiving VA disability benefits, you should be compliant with these exams. This means that the effects of spinal stenosis are not limited to the back. When it occurs in the cervical spine (the neck and upper section of the back), symptoms may include pain, muscle spasm and weakness, numbness, and tingling in the neck, hands, arms, legs, and feet. These complications of stenosis are called. Rheumatoid arthritis of the spine leads to neck pain, back pain, and sometimes causes pain to radiate into the arms and legs. These cookies dont collect information that identifies you. IVDS commonly includes back pain and sciatica (pain along the course of the sciatic nerve into the buttock and the leg) in the case of lumbar disc disease, and neck plus arm or hand pain in the case of cervical disc disease. Ratings will fall between 0% and 100% disability. Copy this embed code to share the infographic on your own site. IVDS is rated under diagnostic code 5243, and the rating criteria relies on the number of incapacitating episodes and how much bed rest the veteran's physician prescribed within the last year. ATTORNEY FOR THE . Portland, OR: 650 N. E. Holladay Street, Suite 1600, Portland, OR, 97232 Not necessarily, but its worth looking at your C-File to see if you had spinal stenosis during your service and it was incorrectly diagnosed. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertisements on other websites. You should know that it's impossible to get disability benefits if you aren't . CCK Recognized for Donations to American Veterans Disabled For Life Memorial, CCK Successfully Argues for a Precedential Decision About Protected Work Environment, A Day in the Life of a Paralegal (Claims Advocate) at CCK. With extensive experience working with VA disability claims, Berry Law can help you with your disability appeals. A very common impairment caused by this nerve compression is sciatica. Disability benefits are paid for service-connected disabilities. As the foramen close in, it can lead to those nerves becoming pinched. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_4" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_5" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Were you stationed at Camp Lejeune before 1987? If the entire spine is frozen in an unfavorable position, the disability rating may be as high as 100%. Spinal conditions can cause nerve problems as well. In order to be granted a VA disability rating for spinal stenosis at 30%, you must meet either of these conditions: Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine, or Favorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine, where your spine is fixed in place but at a neutral position at 0 degrees. VA Disability Rating For Degenerative Disc Disease Posted by Berry Law on June 18, 2018 in Veterans Benefits Military service can place an incredible amount of stress on the body. Errors are frequently made when rating conditions. We use cookies to optimize our website and our service. Use our VA disability calculator to estimate your combined VA rating and monthly payment. Registration is FREE of charge! Because the rating formula is almost entirely based on ROM measurements, its important to make sure that a doctor performs ROM testing as accurately as possible. If your spine is not frozen, the VA disability rating for spinal stenosis will depend on the ROM measurements using a goniometer. 14K 1,344 9. THE ISSUE. In such cases, the VA is able to consider certain, Once the VA has acknowledged that your disability is related to servicei.e. These ratings are added together using VA math for an overall VA disability rating for spinal stenosis. These measurements are taken while bending the neck and back forward and backward, tilting the neck and back from size to side, and rotating the neck and back to each side. for L3 -L4 L4-L5 L5- S1 in the past they are rating as post operative residuals of . Spinal discs act as cushions between your vertebrae. We use your disability rating to determine how much disability compensation you'll receive each month, as well as your eligibility for other VA benefits. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. It may also cause bladder and bowel issues. As with most medical conditions, the VA disability rating for back pain depends on a variety of factors. Favorable position means your spine is locked but more or less vertical, so you can still sit at a desk chair, for example. 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. Stenosis can occur in the cervical or c-spine (neck) and lumbar (lower back) areas of the spine. Because the vertebrae are closer together, they tend to compress the nerves that lie inside the spine, especially the spinal cord. When this evidence is presented to the VA, it may be possible to obtain VA disability benefits. Additional medical appliances may be required. An unfavorable position means your spine is locked in a position that is something other than vertical. Any injuries or disabilities that are the result of military service are eligible for compensation by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Degenerative arthritis of the spine, sometimes referred to as facet joint osteoarthritis, causes a breakdown of the cartilage between the facet joints in the back of the spine. Back braces or corsets are $200 or more. To qualify for a 50 percent rating, a veteran would need to have "unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine." These types of lawyers have experience dealing with the laws and rules that govern the VA and may have ideas and suggestions for increasing or challenging your VA disability rating. If your spine is locked in an unfavorable position, you may qualify for a relatively high disability rating as high as 100%. 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. For example, fractured and/or dislocated vertebrae can lead to pain and weakness in the arms, hips, shoulders, etc. Given this variety of symptoms, it is easy to understand how spinal stenosis can be misdiagnosed. The latter two will show whether soft tissue may be impinging or invading the spinal cord area. The total ROM measurement is merely the sum of the individual ROM measurements for each of the spine segments. Some of the conditions included in this category are degenerative arthritis, traumatic arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. These exams are called comprehensive preventive health evaluations (CPHE) or wellness checks.. 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. However, in many cases, spinal stenosis causes symptoms elsewhere in the body besides the back. Although this type of arthritis is most common in the small joints of the hands and feet, it can occur in any joint. During the months after surgery, veterans are entitled to a 100% disability rating so they can recover from the procedure. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter to stay updated on VA news, policy changes, and more. This can lead to a misdiagnosis of spinal stenosis. The following spinal conditions are all rated under the same general rating formula: The general rating formula that is used to rate the conditions listed above is mainly based on range of motion (ROM) measurements. 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. Case Info Step 2. 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. The VA has a separate rating system for these conditions. By continuing to use our website, you agree to these updates. 203, San Jose, CA 95134 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%. An. What is the diagnostic code for traumatic arthritis? You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. Congenital spinal stenosis is present at birth as a normal variant in the population or due to congenital conditions. While we still have our home base in Florida, These only occur in extraordinary cases in which the VA ratings formula does not account for the effects or consequences of your disability. Does Spinal Stenosis Qualify for Disability Benefits? All but 10% of lumbar IVDS is at the L4-L5 or L5-S1 level. Our firm was founded in 1986 in Orlando, Florida. If left untreated, spinal stenosis may cause permanent numbness, weakness, balance problems, incontinence, and/or paralysis.
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