The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine has not resulted in a loss of forward flexion of 60 degrees or less, a combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine less than 120 degrees, lumbar radiculopathy, 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. The Veteran's left knee is shown to have arthritis causing a noncompensable decrease in range of motion due to pain; and while he complains of giving away of the knee, the weight of the evidence is against the finding that has lateral instability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine does not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic code.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 9, 2017
- Citation
- 1721022
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1721022.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, is related to service and granted service connection for this condition.
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