Low back strain VA Rating

Low back strain is rated under diagnostic code 5237. In the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities it appears as Lumbosacral strain, within the Musculoskeletal System section of 38 CFR Part 4.

The essentials

Other names for this condition

VA and treating providers may use different terms for the same condition. If your records use any of these, they may still support a claim for Low back strain:

• Back pain
• low back sprain
• lumbar sprain
• lumbar strain
• lumbosacral strain

What evidence decides the rating

For musculoskeletal system conditions, these are the findings VA weighs when assigning a percentage. If your examination did not address them, the examination may be inadequate for rating purposes — which is itself an argument on appeal.

• Range-of-motion measurements in degrees, taken with a goniometer, for both the affected and the opposite joint
• Whether pain begins during motion — under §4.59 and Correia v. McDonald, testing must cover active, passive, weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing motion
• Flare-ups: how often, how long, and how much additional loss of motion they cause (DeLuca factors under §4.40 and §4.45)
• Objective imaging showing arthritis, disc disease, or hardware
• Whether the dominant or non-dominant side is affected (§4.69)

Why these claims get denied or under-rated

These are the failure patterns we see most often on low back strain and related musculoskeletal system claims:

• The examiner recorded range of motion without testing for pain on motion, or skipped weight-bearing testing — an inadequate exam under Correia, and a duty-to-assist error argument on Higher-Level Review
• Flare-ups were never asked about, so the rating reflects a good day rather than the disability picture over time
• Service treatment records show no complaint, and the claim was denied for no in-service event — even though continuity of symptoms and lay evidence can establish the link
• Pain alone was treated as non-compensable, despite Saunders v. Wilkie holding that pain causing functional impairment can itself be a disability

Secondary service connection

Under 38 CFR §3.310, a condition caused or aggravated by an already service-connected condition is itself service-connected. Secondary claims are where most veterans are leaving compensation on the table — and where most denials turn on the nexus opinion rather than the diagnosis.

Low back strain is commonly claimed secondary to

• Altered gait from a knee, ankle or foot condition
• Hip conditions
• Leg length discrepancy

Low back strain commonly causes or aggravates

• Lower extremity radiculopathy
• Sciatica
• Knee and hip conditions from altered gait
• Depression secondary to chronic pain
• GERD from NSAID use
• Erectile dysfunction

If you are already service-connected for low back strain and any of these apply to you, they may be claimable as secondary conditions.

If your claim was denied or under-rated

A denial is not the end of the claim. Which route is right depends on why VA decided the way it did:

• Higher-Level Review — when the evidence already in the file supports a grant and VA got the decision wrong, or the examination was inadequate.
• Supplemental Claim — when you have new and relevant evidence, such as a private nexus opinion.
• Board Appeal — when you need a Veterans Law Judge to decide, or want a hearing.
• Clear and Unmistakable Error — when a decision more than a year old contains an undebatable error, which can recover retroactive pay.

Effective dates matter as much as the percentage. See effective dates and back pay for how far back an award can reach.

Sources

• 38 CFR Part 4 rating criteria on eCFR
• VA Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQ) index

Related conditions

• Neck strain (DC 5237)
• Sacroiliac injury (DC 5236)
• Spinal stenosis (back) (DC 5238)
• Spinal stenosis (neck) (DC 5238)
• Back fracture (DC 5235)
• Ankylosing spondylitis (DC 5240)