Conditions Secondary to a Knee Condition
A knee condition can change how you move, and that often shows up elsewhere. These are the conditions most often claimed as secondary to a knee condition.
View the Knee Osteoarthritis rating pageFavoring a service connected knee can overload the other knee, the hips, the low back, and the feet. VA recognizes these altered gait conditions as secondary under 38 CFR 3.310 when a clinician ties them to the original knee.
The opposite (contralateral) knee is a classic secondary claim: years of compensating for one knee can wear down the other. Each joint is rated on its own range of motion and stability criteria.
Conditions commonly claimed as secondary
Each opens its 38 CFR rating criteria. A listing here is not a promise of service connection.
Knee instability is rated under diagnostic code 5257 at 10, 20, or 30 percent based on slight, moderate, or severe recurrent subluxation or lateral instability.
Hip limited flexion is rated under diagnostic code 5252 at 10 to 30 percent. Limited extension and other hip movements are rated separately.
The lumbar spine is rated using the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. Ratings depend mostly on forward flexion measured in degrees.
Ankle osteoarthritis is rated under diagnostic code 5271 by limitation of ankle motion at 10 or 20 percent.
Plantar fasciitis is rated under diagnostic code 5269 at 10, 20, 30, or 40 percent based on whether it is unilateral or bilateral, the response to treatment, and any loss of use of the foot.
Radiculopathy involving the sciatic nerve is rated under diagnostic code 8520 in 38 CFR 4.124a: 10, 20, 40, or 60 percent for mild, moderate, moderately severe, or severe incomplete paralysis, and 80 percent for complete paralysis.
Depression secondary to a service connected condition is rated under the same General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders.
Chronic gastritis is rated under 38 CFR 4.114, DC 7307, at 0, 20, 40, 60, or 100 percent based on how often you have episodes of abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting, whether daily medication is needed, and whether there is bleeding or anemia.
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Open a PubMed search for the medical literature behind these secondary claims. Bring relevant studies to your treating physician or a VA accredited representative; a study supports a medical opinion, it is not the opinion itself.
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