Muscle Injuries§ 4.73Updated
Rating criteria

VA Diagnostic Code 5310Group X. Function: Movements of forefoot and toes; propulsion thrust in walking. Intrinsic muscles of the foot: Plantar: (1) Flexor digitorum brevis; (2) abductor hallucis; (3) abductor digiti minimi; (4) quadratus plantae; (5) lumbricales; (6) flexor hallucis brevis; (7) adductor hallucis; (8) flexor digiti minimi brevis; (9) dorsal and plantar interossei. Other important plantar structures: Plantar aponeurosis, long plantar and calcaneonavicular ligament, tendons of posterior tibial, peroneus longus, and long flexors of great and little toes

Rated from 0% to 30% under § 4.73. Here is what the VA requires at each level.

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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.

  1. 30%

    Severe

  2. 20%

    Moderately Severe

  3. 10%

    Moderate

  4. 0%

    Slight

  5. 20%

    Dorsal: (1) Extensor hallucis brevis; (2) extensor digitorum brevis. Other important dorsal structures: cruciate, crural, deltoid, and other ligaments; tendons of long extensors of toes and peronei muscles: Severe

  6. 10%

    Dorsal: (1) Extensor hallucis brevis; (2) extensor digitorum brevis. Other important dorsal structures: cruciate, crural, deltoid, and other ligaments; tendons of long extensors of toes and peronei muscles: Moderately Severe

  7. 10%

    Dorsal: (1) Extensor hallucis brevis; (2) extensor digitorum brevis. Other important dorsal structures: cruciate, crural, deltoid, and other ligaments; tendons of long extensors of toes and peronei muscles: Moderate

  8. 0%

    Dorsal: (1) Extensor hallucis brevis; (2) extensor digitorum brevis. Other important dorsal structures: cruciate, crural, deltoid, and other ligaments; tendons of long extensors of toes and peronei muscles: Slight

From the schedule

Notes on this code

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

  • Note: Minimum rating for through-and-through wounds of the footâ10.

Foot Muscle Injuries — Group X (Diagnostic Code 5310)

Understanding the Condition

Diagnostic Code 5310 falls under Muscle Injuries and is governed by § 4.73 of the VA rating schedule. It addresses injuries to Muscle Group X, the muscles responsible for movements of the forefoot and toes and for providing propulsion thrust in walking.

Group X covers the intrinsic muscles of the foot, organized into two main regions:

Plantar (sole of the foot) muscles:

  1. Flexor digitorum brevis
  2. Abductor hallucis
  3. Abductor digiti minimi
  4. Quadratus plantae
  5. Lumbricales
  6. Flexor hallucis brevis
  7. Adductor hallucis
  8. Flexor digiti minimi brevis
  9. Dorsal and plantar interossei

Other important plantar structures include the plantar aponeurosis, the long plantar and calcaneonavicular ligament, and the tendons of the posterior tibial, peroneus longus, and long flexors of the great and little toes.

Dorsal (top of the foot) muscles:

  1. Extensor hallucis brevis
  2. Extensor digitorum brevis

Other important dorsal structures include the cruciate, crural, deltoid, and other ligaments, along with the tendons of the long extensors of the toes and the peronei muscles.

Available Rating Levels

The VA assigns a rating based on the severity of the muscle injury. The rating levels differ depending on whether the injury affects the plantar or dorsal structures.

Plantar Muscle Injuries

RatingSeverity
30%Severe
20%Moderately Severe
10%Moderate
0%Slight

Dorsal Muscle Injuries

(Extensor hallucis brevis; extensor digitorum brevis; and other dorsal structures including the cruciate, crural, deltoid, and other ligaments, and tendons of the long extensors of the toes and peronei muscles)

RatingSeverity
20%Severe
10%Moderately Severe
10%Moderate
0%Slight

What the VA Looks For

When evaluating a Group X foot muscle injury, the VA classifies the disability by severity — Slight, Moderate, Moderately Severe, or Severe — and considers whether the injury involves the plantar or dorsal muscle structures, since each region has its own rating scale.

Please note: The minimum rating for through-and-through wounds of the foot is 10%.

These criteria are a rendering of § 4.73, diagnostic code 5310. 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 5310 and attach the evidence for the level you are asking for. Other Muscle Injuries codes may cover your secondary conditions.

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