YOUR CONDITION, EXPLAINED
Post-Traumatic Arthritis VA disability rating & claim guide
The VA rates Post-Traumatic Arthritis under diagnostic code 5010, in 38 CFR § 4.71a (musculoskeletal system). This guide lists two evaluation levels for it: 10% and 0%; the code's evaluation is set through another part of the schedule, so check the criteria against the regulation.
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A CLEARER PATH FORWARD
Make sense of your next step.
01Understand the rating02Know what to gather03Plan your preparationTHE ESSENTIALS
How the VA rates Post-Traumatic Arthritis
Post-traumatic arthritis is joint degeneration that follows a specific injury — a fracture, dislocation or major ligament tear — rather than ordinary wear. Since February 7, 2021 DC 5010 has had no ladder of its own: the schedule reads "Rate as limitation of motion, dislocation, or other specified instability under the affected joint", so the percentage comes entirely from the injured joint's own diagnostic code and differs joint by joint.
THE X-RAY RULE THIS CODE USED TO CARRY WAS REMOVED. Until February 7, 2021 DC 5010 read "Arthritis, due to trauma, substantiated by X-ray findings: Rate as degenerative arthritis", which routed it into DC 5003 and its 10 percent floor for noncompensable limitation of motion. The current code reads: "Rate as limitation of motion, dislocation, or other specified instability under the affected joint. If there are 2 or more joints affected, each rating shall be combined in accordance with § 4.25." So there is no single ladder, no X-ray-based percentage, and no DC 5003 floor. The evaluation is whatever the injured joint's own code provides — for example DC 5260 or 5261 for the knee, DC 5271 for the ankle, DC 5201 for the shoulder, DC 5257 for knee instability — and where more than one joint is involved each is rated separately and combined under 38 CFR 4.25 rather than added. Two provisions still supply a floor. 38 CFR 4.59: it is "the intention to recognize actually painful, unstable, or malaligned joints, due to healed injury, as entitled to at least the minimum compensable rating for the joint", language written for exactly this situation. 38 CFR 4.40 treats weakness, fatigability and incoordination as "as important as limitation of motion". Because the evaluation is assigned on the affected joint, a decision letter normally shows a hyphenated code such as 5010-5260 rather than a bare 5010 (38 CFR 4.27).
- Diagnostic code
- 5010
- Rating schedule
- 38 CFR § 4.71a
- Levels in this guide
- 10% and 0%
EXPLORE THE PERCENTAGES
Post-Traumatic Arthritis VA rating criteria (DC 5010)
Choose a percentage to see what that level means. Open the full comparison to read all the criteria in one place.
These are published rating criteria. Selecting a level does not predict your VA decision.
BUILD YOUR EVIDENCE, ONE PIECE AT A TIME
Evidence for your Post-Traumatic Arthritis claim
A long list feels easier when you have a place to start. Use this checklist to see what you have and what still needs gathering.
Check off what you’ve gathered. Progress stays on this page until you leave or refresh.
THE EXAM FORM
Which DBQ is used for Post-Traumatic Arthritis?
VA publishes its questionnaires by body system; find the one for this condition on VA's list.
Source: VA: Public Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQs), read September 18, 2026.
THE EVERYDAY PICTURE
What the Post-Traumatic Arthritis examination has to record
The criteria above are read off an examination, and three sections of Part 4 govern what that examination has to contain. None of them is a diagnostic code, so none of them appears in the 5010 table, and all three apply to it. 38 CFR § 4.40: “Weakness is as important as limitation of motion, and a part which becomes painful on use must be regarded as seriously disabled.”
38 CFR § 4.45 lists what an examination of a joint is directed to consider:
- Less movement than normal (due to ankylosis, limitation or blocking, adhesions, tendon-tie-up, contracted scars, etc.).
- More movement than normal (from flail joint, resections, nonunion of fracture, relaxation of ligaments, etc.).
- Weakened movement (due to muscle injury, disease or injury of peripheral nerves, divided or lengthened tendons, etc.).
- Excess fatigability.
- Incoordination, impaired ability to execute skilled movements smoothly.
- Pain on movement, swelling, deformity or atrophy of disuse.
38 CFR § 4.59: “It is the intention to recognize actually painful, unstable, or malaligned joints, due to healed injury, as entitled to at least the minimum compensable rating for the joint.” So a joint that is painful on use is not a finding of nothing, even where the measured motion is close to normal.
The same section says how the joint is to be tested: “The joints involved should be tested for pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing and, if possible, with the range of the opposite undamaged joint.” An examination that records one measurement, taken once, sitting down, has not done what the section asks, and that is worth reading the exam report for.
SMALL DETAILS. BETTER PREPARATION.
Preparing your Post-Traumatic Arthritis claim
Start with the practical tips, then explore the common oversights. You don’t need to work through everything at once.
Practical tips for your claim3 tips
- 01
Build a clear injury timeline connecting the original trauma (the fracture, dislocation, or injury event) to the current arthritis diagnosis - this causal chain is the entire basis of this diagnostic code.
- 02
Submit both imaging showing degenerative changes and a functional report describing current limitations, since the rating itself follows the same criteria as degenerative arthritis once the traumatic origin is established.
- 03
Emphasize the history of trauma explicitly in your statement - an examiner needs to see the link between the original injury and today's arthritis, not just a current diagnosis.
C&P exam pitfalls to keep in mind2 tips
- 01
Presenting current arthritis findings without connecting them back to a specific documented in-service injury, which can lead an examiner to treat the claim as ordinary age-related arthritis instead.
- 02
Missing imaging evidence of the degenerative changes themselves - a diagnosis history alone isn't enough without current X-ray or MRI confirmation.
Common filing mistakes2 tips
- 01
Not explicitly linking today's arthritis to the original service injury in your statement and evidence - this connection is the entire basis for a post-traumatic arthritis claim rather than a standard degenerative arthritis one.
- 02
Submitting a diagnosis without imaging, since X-ray evidence of joint involvement is required regardless of how clear the traumatic history is.
When symptoms may first appear2 tips
- 01
Post-traumatic arthritis typically develops slowly in the months or years after the original injury, as repeated stress on a joint that was never quite the same after trauma gradually wears down cartilage.
- 02
Pain and stiffness tend to worsen with age, which is why documenting the original in-service injury is important - without it, later-life arthritis can look indistinguishable from ordinary degenerative arthritis unrelated to service.
THE BROADER PICTURE
Post-Traumatic Arthritis by the numbers
- Approval outlook
- High – especially if injury occurred during service.
- Veterans service-connected
- ~200,000 veterans
- Typical rating awarded
- ~10%
Vetrify editorial estimates informed by VA published claims data (VBA Annual Benefits Report) and the VA rating schedule, not official VA statistics.
LET’S CLEAR A FEW THINGS UP
Common questions about Post-Traumatic Arthritis
Is Post-Traumatic Arthritis a VA-rated disability?
Yes. The VA rates Post-Traumatic Arthritis under VASRD diagnostic code 5010 (Musculoskeletal System). Post-traumatic arthritis is joint degeneration that follows a specific injury — a fracture, dislocation or major ligament tear — rather than ordinary wear. Since February 7, 2021 DC 5010 has had no ladder of its own: the schedule reads "Rate as limitation of motion, dislocation, or other specified instability under the affected joint", so the percentage comes entirely from the injured joint's own diagnostic code and differs joint by joint.
What VA disability rating can I get for Post-Traumatic Arthritis?
This guide lists these VA ratings for Post-Traumatic Arthritis: 10%, 0%; its evaluation is set through another part of the schedule, so check the criteria with the regulation. Examples: 10%: DC 5010 has no criteria of its own — "Rate as limitation of motion, dislocation, or other specified instability under the affected joint." A 10 percent evaluation is assigned where the affected joint's own diagnostic code produces 10 percent, including under 38 CFR 4.59, which entitles an "actually painful, unstable, or malaligned" joint "due to healed injury" to "at least the minimum compensable rating for the joint" — 10 percent for most joints, though some joints' minimum compensable evaluation is higher. Where 2 or more joints are affected, "each rating shall be combined in accordance with § 4.25."; 0%: [38 CFR 4.31] Where the affected joint's limitation of motion, dislocation or instability does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation under that joint's own diagnostic code, and 38 CFR 4.59's minimum-compensable floor is not triggered, a zero percent evaluation is assigned.
What's the typical VA rating awarded for Post-Traumatic Arthritis?
Vetrify estimates the typical rating awarded for Post-Traumatic Arthritis at around 10%, based on VA claims data and the rating schedule. An estimated 200,000 veterans are service-connected for Post-Traumatic Arthritis. Estimated approval outlook: High – especially if injury occurred during service.
What evidence helps prove Post-Traumatic Arthritis for VA disability?
Strong evidence for a Post-Traumatic Arthritis claim includes: Service medical records documenting the original fracture, dislocation or ligament tear — this is the evidence that separates DC 5010 from ordinary degenerative arthritis under DC 5003; Goniometer range-of-motion measurements for the injured joint, in degrees, since February 7, 2021 the percentage comes from the joint's own limitation-of-motion code and nothing else; Examination findings recording objective painful motion, instability, subluxation or malalignment — 38 CFR 4.59's minimum-compensable floor is written around "actually painful, unstable, or malaligned joints, due to healed injury"; Imaging confirming degenerative change in that specific joint, which establishes the diagnosis even though it no longer sets the percentage.
What mistakes should veterans avoid when claiming Post-Traumatic Arthritis?
Common pitfalls when filing for Post-Traumatic Arthritis: Not explicitly linking today's arthritis to the original service injury in your statement and evidence - this connection is the entire basis for a post-traumatic arthritis claim rather than a standard degenerative arthritis one; Submitting a diagnosis without imaging, since X-ray evidence of joint involvement is required regardless of how clear the traumatic history is.
Official sources
- 38 CFR § 4.71a, Schedule of ratings, musculoskeletal system (Diagnostic Code 5010)
- 38 CFR § 4.40, functional loss
- 38 CFR § 4.45, the joints
- 38 CFR § 4.59, painful motion
Criteria in quotation marks are the regulation’s own words; everything else on this page is Vetrify’s summary of it. The eCFR text is authoritative. See how Vetrify derives its numbers.
How these figures are checked: our methodology and the open dataset.
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