Are you a veteran trying to win VA disability rating for back pain? This is also known as a lumbosacral strain VA rating. You don’t have to go it alone. These top 5 tips will help make the VA disability claim process easier. With the right information and preparation, you can look forward to greater peace of mind knowing that your back pain VA rating has a good chance of being approved.
If you’re looking for ways to make sure your appeal for the VA disability rating for back pain works out in your favor, then these five simple steps are an invaluable aid. Read on and get ready to finally make progress in winning your disability rating and getting the VA benefits you have earned!
Tip #1 – Consider The Nature Of Your Injury- Understand The Specifics Of Your Injury Of Your Current Disability And How The Pain Caused Impacts Your Daily Life
Understanding the personal nature of the painful motion caused by your back pain is perhaps the most important factor to consider when filing a VA disability rating claim. To make a successful case for your VA disability claim for your back injury, it’s beneficial to document your personal statement in support of claim with detailed and specific medical evidence from when you served on active duty.
If you suffer painful motion or your range of motion is limited, consider getting a physical examination from a medical professional. Ask questions on how to do daily activities safely. Be sure to document on how the level of pain you experience daily and how it limits and affects your daily life including if you have to take bed rest if you were in an unfavorable position.
Mental health conditions such as depression, lack of sleep and anxiety can also be a secondary connected to your back pain. As an example, military veterans often complain they cannot get comfortable at night to sleep because of their back injury as they toss and turn. This leads to irritablilty and may cause them to get angry easily with their loved ones or be less productive at work.
All these variables are taken into consideration by the VA and greatly affects their decision when making a rating for a claim; so make sure you clearly explain this personal story as part of your VA disability claims process.
Tip #2 – Get Medical Documentation By Gathering Medical Records From All Relevant Doctors To Support Your Case, Including X-Rays, MRIs, Lab Results, Etc.
It’s essential to have the right kind of medical documentation if you’re looking to win a VA disability rating claim. This must be evidenced through medical records, X-rays or MRIs to achieve additional secondary claims from degenerative disc disease to radiculopathy VA rating.
No matter what kind of back pain your claim is based on, having detailed medical files or a service connection to refer back to can greatly improve the chances of a successful VA disability rating. A doctor’s report detailing your back pain diagnosis and treatments also goes a long way in establishing the medical nexus for your claim.
Make sure you accumulate all necessary paperwork before making your VA disability claim; it could prove invaluable in securing your VA benefits that you have earned.
Tip #3 – Tell Your Story And Prepare A Detailed Account Of How Your Injury Has Impacted Your Life, Which Will Help Strengthen And Personalize Your VA Disability Claim
Preparing a personal statement in support of your VA disability rating claim is an important step to take in the process. Your personal statement is your opportunity to articulate how your back injury is service connected either through training injuries, working in unfavorable positions, or whatever scenario is your truth and how that has caused you significant pain.
Many veterans silently struggle with their back disability and that is why you must allow yourself to be vulnerable. You must allow yourself to write about your back disability and how it has negatively impacted your life. Your range of motion may now cause you to walk with an abnormal gait, or you now suffer from lack of sleep that gives you anxiety, or it is hard to keep gainful employment.
Essentially, write how your service connected back pain and connected it to your worst day when you feel severe back pain. The more details you can offer that demonstrate the seriousness of your back pain condition and the painful motion you endure every day.
Furthermore, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask for support from friends, family, coworkers and even health care providers—collecting buddy letters and spousal letters provide yet another level of personalization that can prove beneficial to your service connected VA disability claim.
Taking the time to craft a personal story provides heart and humanity to something as mechanical as a legal process—and it could be key in ensuring you have a successful VA disability rating outcome.
Generally the VA will grant a free case evaluation or C&P examination on your claim by an experienced medical professional. They will review your medical evidence, personal statements and conduct a physical exam to measure your range of motion, look at your spinal column and see how much functional loss you have.
It is critical to express to the examiner where you feel experiencing back pain and when as they conduct the exam. Read the next tip below on how they will determine your disability rating for your back pain.
Tip #4 – Understand The CFR Title 38 Chapter 4 Subpart 4 VA Regulations Related To VA Disability Rating For Back Pain And Understand What You Need To Do In Order To Qualify For A Higher VA Disability Rating
Understanding the CFR Title 38 Chapter 4 Subpart 4 § 4.71a regulations surrounding VA disability rating can be intimidating. However, if you want to win your VA disability claim and get the highest VA disability rating for back pain available to you, it’s essential.
Familiarize yourself with the general rating formula, research the VA disability rating chart, and understand what range of motion measurements are necessary to get a higher rating. You need to be honest with the examiner as you talk about your back pain and the pain caused as they have you demonstrate your range of motion.
See below how the VA rates the disability ratings for back pain.
VA Disability Ratings Table
The examiner will assess and examine two primary areas (your back and neck pain)
- Thoracolumbar Spine (the larger part of your back)
- Cervical Spine (Your Neck)
10% Rating – Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 60 degrees but not greater than 85 degrees OR the following:
- Forward flexion of the cervical spine greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 40 degrees
- Combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 120 degrees but not greater than 170 degrees but not greater than 335 degrees
- Muscle spasm, guarding or localized tenderness not affecting gait or spinal contour
- Vertebral body fracture with loss of 50% or more of height
20% Rating – Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 60 degrees OR the following:
- Forward flexion of the cervical spine greater than 15 degrees but not greater than 30 degrees
- The combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine but not greater than 120 degrees
- A combined range of motion of the cervical spine not greater than 170 degrees
- Muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour (i.e. scoliosis, etc.)
30% Rating – Forward flexion of the cervical spine 15 degrees or less OR favorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine
40% Rating – Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine OR
- Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine 30 degrees or less OR
- Favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine
50% Rating – Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine
100% Rating – Unfavorable ankylosis
With this background knowledge about the disability ratings formula, you’ll be prepared for any questions that come up during your C&P exam.
Make sure you take the time to read up and understand the chart before filing your VA disability claim and before your C&P exam. It could quite literally mean the difference between winning or losing your VA disability claim.
Tip #5 – Don’t Be Afraid To Ask Questions If You’re Confused About Any Part On How The VA Rates Back Pain Or Get Examples For Service Connection With Your Personal Statement Support of Claim
As you prepare your VA disability rating claim, don’t be afraid to reach out to VA Accredited Law Groups like VetsForever or a VSO for help and advice. They will be able to answer your questions.
If you’re confused about how to submit the VA disability claims, produce the service records or the right evidence needed, or the whole process in general, don’t hesitate to ask questions.
Remember, this is an important part of ensuring that you get all the disability benefits you deserve from the back pain you incurred during your military service. Take your time and make sure you are comfortable with every step of the process.
Summary
When it comes to the VA disability rating for back pain, the five main pieces of advice are to consider the nature of your back injury, get service connected medical documentation, tell your story, understand how the VA rates back pain, and always ask questions.
Taking these steps is essential for a successful VA disability ratings. Most importantly, be honest—tell the VA about your worst days, not your best day so you will position yourself to potentially receive a higher VA rating and get the VA disability benefits for your back pain.
The more information you provide regarding your back pain, the better chance you have of receiving higher VA disability ratings as quickly as possible so that you can focus on healing.
So when submitting your claim application or paperwork, remember what matters most: telling your story truthfully and authentically. This is almost as important as to never give up no matter what! You got this!
FAQs
Is it hard to get VA disability for back pain?
The process of getting VA disability for back pain can be challenging. It relies on providing evidence to demonstrate that your back pain is serious enough to warrant a VA disability rating. You may need medical documentation, buddy letters, spousal letters and more in order to successfully receive VA disability benefits.
It’s important to understand the VA rating formula surrounding the VA disability ratings table to ensure you receive the highest VA disability ratings for back pain possible.
What type of back problems qualify for VA disability?
The types of back pain that qualify for a disability rating vary from person to person, but generally involve evidence documenting the severity of your back pain. This could include medical records, doctor’s notes, or even personal stories about how you have been affected by the injury and how it causes either significant back pain or creates a functional loss with limited range of motion.
Common conditions that qualify for VA disability ratings include herniated discs, spinal stenosis, sciatica, radiculopathy and degenerative disc disease. In order to receive a higher VA rating for your back pain, it’s important to understand the criteria for each type of injury so you can accurately describe your symptoms and provide all necessary evidence.
Remember, some of these could be used as secondary conditions once your back is service connected. This will allow you to increase your combined rating score with additional VA disability ratings via a secondary service connection via another VA claim.
How does the VA measure back pain?
The VA measures back pain by assessing the level of back pain and range of motion via the forward flexion movement. They will also evaluate things like how much your back pain interferes with daily activities, pain caused and how it may impact other secondary service connected back conditions.
The VA will also consider evidence such as medical records, doctor’s notes, and personal stories about how your back pain has impacted you. In order to receive the highest VA disability ratings possible, it’s important to accurately describe your symptoms and provide detailed evidence on how the back pain affects you every day.