The Veteran's muscle and joint pain is not service-connected as it was not incurred or aggravated by his military service. The Board found that the symptoms were more likely due to hypogonadism and obesity, which are unrelated to his service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not support a finding of an undiagnosed illness related to service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations, and instead concluded that the Veteran's muscle and joint pain was secondary to hypogonadism and obesity.
- Claimed conditions
- muscle and joint pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19184271
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for muscle and joint pain, to include fibromyalgia, due to a duty to assist error that occurred prior to the March 2024 rating decision.
- Granted
The veteran's claim for service connection for muscle and joint pain, related to Gulf War service, was granted based on new evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an undiagnosed illness manifested by memory loss and muscle and joint pain, finding that the Veteran's symptoms were related to known clinical diagnoses rather than undiagnosed illnesses or MUCMIs.
- Partly granted
The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the Veteran's claims for service connection for sinusitis, nasal polyps, bronchitis, muscle and joint pain, erectile dysfunction, left knee condition, right knee condition, thoracolumbar spine degenerative changes, bilateral wrist condition, and bilateral elbow condition. The claims are therefore denied.
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