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Rating guide · Spine

Your Back Claim: Motion, Episodes & Nerves

Years under a rucksack, in a vehicle seat or hauling parts on a shop floor leave their mark on the lower back. The VA has more than one yardstick for a spine, and a lot of Illinois veterans are rated on less than they should be because only one got used.

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Degrees of motion
Bed-rest episodes
Leg nerve add-ons
Before the exam

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Overview

Three Yardsticks, Two Choices and an Add-On

Movement. Most spine ratings come from how far you can bend, measured with a goniometer at the exam.
Disc flare episodes. For intervertebral disc syndrome, total time on doctor-ordered bed rest over a year.
Leg nerves. Radiculopathy into one or both legs earns its own percentage per side.

The VA scores you under the first two and keeps whichever comes out higher. The third is separate, so it is added to the spine percentage rather than replacing it.

Yardstick 1 · 38 CFR 4.71a

Thoracolumbar Motion Levels

A healthy lower back bends forward to 90 degrees, and the six measured directions add up to 240. Amounts shown are 2026 monthly pay for a single veteran.

Mid and lower back criteria as of October 2026; the neck uses a different chart. Pay rates effective December 1, 2025.
Rating	VA criteria	2026 pay (alone)
100%	Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine.	$3,938.58
50%	Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.	$1,132.90
40%	Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine 30 degrees or less; or, favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.	$795.84
20%	Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 60 degrees; or, the combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine not greater than 120 degrees; or, muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour such as scoliosis, reversed lordosis, or abnormal kyphosis.	$356.66
10%	Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 60 degrees but not greater than 85 degrees; or, combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 120 degrees but not greater than 235 degrees; or, muscle spasm, guarding, or localized tenderness not resulting in abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour; or, vertebral body fracture with loss of 50 percent or more of the height.	$180.42

Yardstick 2 · Disc disease

Doctor-Ordered Bed Rest

Under 38 CFR 4.71a, a day only counts when a physician both prescribed the bed rest and treated you for it.
Rating	VA criteria	2026 pay (alone)
60%	With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 6 weeks during the past 12 months.	$1,435.02
40%	With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 4 weeks but less than 6 weeks during the past 12 months.	$795.84
20%	With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 2 weeks but less than 4 weeks during the past 12 months.	$356.66
10%	With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least one week but less than 2 weeks during the past 12 months.	$180.42

Add-on · Nerves

Sciatica Rated Leg by Leg

Shooting pain, pins and needles, numbness or a weak leg from a pinched nerve root falls under the sciatic nerve code, with a separate rating for each side.

Source: 38 CFR 4.124a, DC 8520. When symptoms are wholly sensory, the rating is usually mild and tops out at moderate. Both legs rated means the bilateral factor applies.
Rating	VA criteria
80%	Complete paralysis: the foot dangles and drops, no active movement possible of muscles below the knee, flexion of knee weakened or (very rarely) lost.
60%	Incomplete paralysis: severe, with marked muscular atrophy.
40%	Incomplete paralysis: moderately severe.
20%	Incomplete paralysis: moderate.
10%	Incomplete paralysis: mild.

Before the exam

Getting an Honest Measurement

Bend until it hurts, then stop and tell the examiner that is where pain begins; pushing past it only produces a number that undersells you. Explain your bad days in concrete terms: how many a month, how long they last, what you can’t do while they’re on. The examiner is supposed to estimate the extra motion you lose during a flare and after repetitive use. If your legs tingle or give out, ask that the nerves be checked so radiculopathy gets rated too.

Quad Cities veterans in VA care are usually seen at the Davenport clinic, and those treatment notes count as evidence. A bad back often spreads: knee and hip strain, bladder or bowel trouble, ED and depression can all be claimed as secondary conditions.

FAQ

Back Pain VA Rating: Common Questions

Will the VA add my motion rating and my disc episode rating together?

No. It calculates both and uses only the higher one. Separate ratings for nerve symptoms in your legs are the part that gets added.

My sciatica wasn’t rated. What went wrong?

Often the examiner never assessed radiculopathy. Ask for it specifically; each leg with nerve symptoms is rated on its own under DC 8520.

How much bending limitation earns 40%?

Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine to 30 degrees or less, or favorable ankylosis of the whole thoracolumbar spine.

I stayed in bed for a week on my own during a flare. Does that count?

Not toward the disc formula. Only bed rest a physician prescribed, with treatment by a physician, is counted as an incapacitating episode.

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