Musculoskeletal System§ 4.71aUpdated
Rating criteria

VA Diagnostic Code 5024Tenosynovitis, tendinitis, tendinosis or tendinopathy

Rated under § 4.71a. No rating levels have been extracted for this code yet — use the official source.

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In short

Summary

Evaluate the diseases under diagnostic codes 5013 through 5024 as degenerative arthritis, based on limitation of motion of affected parts.

The ladder

What each rating requires

The VA assigns the highest level your evidence actually supports. Read up the stack until your records stop matching.

No rating levels extracted yet

This code has no itemised criteria in our copy of the schedule. Use the official source link for the controlling text.

From the schedule

Notes on this code

These notes are part of the regulation. They change how the levels above are applied.

  • Note to DCs 5013 through 5024: Evaluate the diseases under diagnostic codes 5013 through 5024 as degenerative arthritis, based on limitation of motion of affected parts.

VA Disability Rating: Tenosynovitis, Tendinitis, Tendinosis or Tendinopathy (Diagnostic Code 5024)

Understanding the Condition

Tenosynovitis, tendinitis, tendinosis, and tendinopathy are conditions affecting the tendons and the sheaths that surround them. These fall under the Musculoskeletal System and are rated by the VA under Diagnostic Code 5024, found in 38 CFR § 4.71a.

How the VA Rates This Condition

Under Diagnostic Code 5024, the VA does not use a stand-alone rating formula. Instead, the regulation directs that these conditions be evaluated the same way as degenerative arthritis.

Note to DCs 5013 through 5024: Evaluate the diseases under diagnostic codes 5013 through 5024 as degenerative arthritis, based on limitation of motion of affected parts.

This means your rating is tied to the limitation of motion of the affected body part(s) — for example, how much movement is restricted in the joint or area where the tendon condition is located.

What the VA Looks For

When evaluating tenosynovitis, tendinitis, tendinosis, or tendinopathy under Diagnostic Code 5024, the VA focuses on:

  • The affected parts — which tendons, joints, or areas of the body are involved.
  • Limitation of motion — the degree to which movement of the affected parts is restricted.
  • Evaluation as degenerative arthritis — because the condition is rated using the framework for degenerative arthritis, based on that limitation of motion.

Key Reference Points

DetailInformation
Diagnostic Code5024
ConditionTenosynovitis, tendinitis, tendinosis or tendinopathy
Body SystemMusculoskeletal System
Regulation38 CFR § 4.71a
How RatedAs degenerative arthritis, based on limitation of motion of affected parts

This information is based on the VA rating schedule for Diagnostic Code 5024. Individual evaluations depend on the specific facts of each case and the medical evidence of record.

These criteria are a rendering of § 4.71a, diagnostic code 5024. The official version is the one that governs your rating.

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What next

How to claim this

Knowing the criteria is the first half. Getting your file to show them is the second.

  1. Find your level in the stack

    Read each rung against what your medical records already say. The level your records document today is the one the VA can support today.

  2. Name the gap

    Look at the rung above yours and write down exactly what it asks for that your file does not show yet — a diagnosis, a measurement, a prescribed brace, a doctor’s opinion linking it to service.

  3. Claim it by code

    File under diagnostic code 5024 and attach the evidence for the level you are asking for. Other Musculoskeletal System codes may cover your secondary conditions.

Find out which rating your evidence supports.

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