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VA rating schedule, diagnostic code 5237
What it is and how the VA recognizes it: A neck (cervical spine) disability is a problem in the top part of the backbone that can cause pain, stiffness, and reduced motion when you turn or bend your neck. To pay benefits, the VA uses "service connection," which generally means the evidence shows the injury or disease started during military service, or was made worse by service. Service connection can be shown directly with evidence, or through legal presumptions (38 CFR 3.303). A neck condition can also be "secondary" — caused or worsened by another service-connected problem — under 38 CFR 3.310. Neck arthritis is also one of the "chronic diseases" in 38 CFR 3.309(a), which means if X-ray-confirmed arthritis shows up to at least a 10% level within one year of leaving service, it can be presumed connected to service.
The diagnostic code and what drives a higher rating: Neck conditions are rated under 38 CFR 4.71a using codes in the 5235–5243 range (for example, 5237 covers cervical strain, 5242 degenerative arthritis/disc disease, and 5243 intervertebral disc syndrome). Most are scored with the "General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine." The single biggest factor is how far you can bend your neck forward (forward flexion), measured in degrees, where normal forward flexion is 0 to 45 degrees. In general, the more your motion is limited, the higher the rating: forward flexion greater than 30 but not over 40 degrees is 10%; greater than 15 but not over 30 degrees is 20%; 15 degrees or less, or favorable ankylosis (the joint frozen in a good position) of the entire cervical spine, is 30%; and unfavorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine is 40%. Muscle spasm or guarding that causes an abnormal gait or abnormal spinal curve can also reach 20%. Importantly, the VA evaluates related nerve problems (like numbness or weakness in an arm, or bowel or bladder issues) separately under their own codes, which can add to the overall picture.
Exposure and presumptive pathways: A mechanical neck or cervical spine condition is a musculoskeletal problem, so the special toxic-exposure presumptive programs — Agent Orange, burn pits, Camp Lejeune water, and the newer PACT Act lists — generally do not apply to it, because those pathways are built for cancers, respiratory illnesses, and certain other diseases rather than back or neck injuries. That means there usually is no exposure-based shortcut that removes the need to link the neck condition to service. The most common ways to establish a neck claim are direct service connection (showing it began in or is tied to service), secondary service connection (it was caused or worsened by another service-connected condition), or the chronic-disease presumption for arthritis described above.
A denial is a starting point, not the end — veterans have options to provide more evidence and seek review of a decision. This is general educational information about how the VA's rules work, not legal advice or a VA decision about your individual claim.
Grounded in federal regulations and VA guidance, independently reviewed June 2026. Educational information, not legal advice or a VA determination.
Across 47,548 real Board appeals for Neck / cervical spine
A denial is often not the end either — remands (shown below) are sent back for more development and can still end in a grant. These are historical outcomes, not a prediction of your case.
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Among the appeals that were granted or partly granted, the most common ways Neck / cervical spine was linked to service:
In appeals where Neck / cervical spine was the only condition decided and the Board granted it, the rating most often assigned was:
These appeals involved a recognized exposure — which can mean the link to service is presumed, with no nexus to prove:
The Veteran's cervical spine disability, right knee strain (painful motion), and right knee instability are now rated at 30 percent effective August 16, 2017.
The Board has granted service connection for cervical spine strain, right wrist sprain, right knee strain, left knee strain, and right ankle strain. The disabilities are all deemed to have begun during the Veteran's active duty.
The Board has granted service connection for Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Neck Disability, and Bilateral Upper Extremity Radiculopathy. The decision is based on the Veteran's active service and medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability (PTSD) has been granted service connection, with the in-service stressor involving a hit on the head during Octoberfest. Headaches have also been granted an initial 30 percent rating based on characteristic prostrating attacks occurring once per month.,Service connection for traumatic brain injury and neck disability is pending as remanded issues.
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment prior to August 14, 2023.
The Veteran's residuals of papillary carcinoma, thyroid, status post total thyroidectomy is granted as service-connected.,The Veteran's hypothyroidism is granted as service-connected due to the presumed exposure to herbicide agents during service.
Jump to the decisions from a specific year.
New decisions are added every week, and older years are actively being backfilled — a year that looks thin or missing here (especially 2011–2017) is a gap in our library, not in the Board’s decisions.
Veterans appealing Neck / cervical spine often look at outcomes for these too:
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