VA Disability Rating for Periostitis (DC 5022 Retired)
Diagnostic Code 5022 · 38 CFR §4.71a
What Is It?
DC 5022 no longer exists, and there is no code that replaced it. VA rewrote the musculoskeletal schedule effective February 7, 2021 (85 FR 76453) and removed DC 5018 (intermittent hydrarthrosis), DC 5020 (synovitis) and DC 5022 (periostitis). A commenter asked VA to add notes saying where these conditions should go instead. VA declined, and its answer is the answer this page has to give: "hydrarthrosis and synovitis are signs of underlying conditions that are already captured within the evaluation criteria of other DCs," "periostitis is a non-specific inflammatory process caused by underlying conditions that can be rated in accordance with the primary diagnosis," and "VA sees no need to limit these signs to specific DCs; they will be evaluated with an underlying diagnosis." The mechanic itself did not change, which is the part worth holding onto. The surviving codes in this family — DC 5013 through DC 5024 — carry a shared Note: "Evaluate the diseases under diagnostic codes 5013 through 5024 as degenerative arthritis, based on limitation of motion of affected parts." DC 5003 then directs that the evaluation be made on limitation of motion under the code for the specific joint, and where that limitation of motion is noncompensable, 10 percent applies for each major joint or group of minor joints affected by limitation of motion, combined and not added. Two provisions cut against a low result: § 4.59 entitles an actually painful, unstable or malaligned joint to at least the minimum compensable rating for that joint, and DC 5003’s own limitation-of-motion route requires only that the limitation be objectively confirmed by findings such as swelling, muscle spasm or satisfactory evidence of painful motion. One provision cuts the other way, and it applied before 2021 too: DC 5003 Note (2) states that the 20 and 10 percent ratings based on X-ray findings "will not be utilized in rating conditions listed under diagnostic codes 5013 to 5024, inclusive." An X-ray alone was never a route to a percentage here. 38 CFR § 3.951(a) is the provision that answers it: a readjustment to the rating schedule "shall not be grounds for reduction of a disability rating in effect on the date of the readjustment unless medical evidence establishes that the disability to be evaluated has actually improved." Under § 3.951(b), an evaluation continuously held at or above its level for 20 years or more cannot be reduced at all except on a showing of fraud, with the 20 years counted from the effective date of the evaluation. Under § 3.957, service connection in effect for 10 years or more cannot be severed except for fraud or a showing from military records that the person did not have the requisite service or character of discharge. And any reduction at all has to run through § 3.105(e): a written proposal setting out all material facts and reasons, 60 days to submit evidence, and — under § 3.105(i) — 30 days from the notice to request a predetermination hearing. Periostitis is inflammation of the periosteum, the membrane sheathing a bone. For veterans it most often means medial tibial stress syndrome — shin splints — from sustained running, rucking and load carriage on hard surfaces, and it sits on a continuum that runs through stress reaction to frank stress fracture. VA’s point in removing the code was that periostitis is a non-specific inflammatory process caused by something else and rated in accordance with the primary diagnosis.
Rating Criteria
| Rating | Criteria |
|---|---|
| See pathways | DC 5022 was removed effective February 7, 2021 and there is no successor code for periostitis. The code assigns no percentage of its own, and it never did: DCs 5013 through 5024 are evaluated as degenerative arthritis based on limitation of motion of the affected part, under the diagnostic code for the specific joint (DC 5200 and following). Where limitation of motion of that joint is noncompensable under its own code, DC 5003 provides 10 percent for each major joint or group of minor joints affected by limitation of motion, combined and not added; the limitation must be objectively confirmed by findings such as swelling, muscle spasm or satisfactory evidence of painful motion. 38 CFR § 4.59 entitles an actually painful, unstable or malaligned joint to at least the minimum compensable rating for that joint. DC 5003 Note (2) bars the X-ray-based 20 and 10 percent ratings for every condition in the 5013–5024 range. |
Evidence Needed
- Medical records from service documenting periostitis or shin splints
- Imaging showing periosteal thickening or stress reactions
- Records of treatment during and after service
- Documentation of current symptoms and their impact on activity
- Connection between the physical demands of your military job and the condition
C&P Exam Tips
- Point out the exact areas of tenderness along the affected bones
- Describe which activities cause the most pain such as running or prolonged walking
- Bring imaging that shows bone changes
- Explain how the condition limits your exercise, work, and daily activities
- Mention if the condition has worsened since service
How to File
File for the primary diagnosis and the bone or joint involved, not for periostitis under a retired code. For shin splints that means the tibia and fibula: DC 5262 covers tibia and fibula impairment and the 2021 rewrite gave it its own criteria, and any resulting limitation of ankle or knee motion is rated under that joint’s code. Document the in-service onset — profiles, sick call entries, physical therapy referrals and imaging are the usual proof — along with current imaging, the pattern of pain on weight-bearing, and range of motion. § 4.59 entitles an actually painful joint to at least the minimum compensable rating for that joint.
Common Mistakes
Not having shin splints documented during service when they first occurred Assuming shin splints are too minor to file a claim for Not getting imaging to show chronic bone changes from repeated stress Failing to describe how the condition limits current physical activity
Frequently Asked Questions
The code on my rating decision was removed. Can VA reduce me?
Not on that basis. 38 CFR § 3.951(a) provides that a readjustment to the rating schedule "shall not be grounds for reduction of a disability rating in effect on the date of the readjustment unless medical evidence establishes that the disability to be evaluated has actually improved." An evaluation held continuously at or above its level for 20 years is protected under § 3.951(b) except on a showing of fraud, and service connection in effect 10 years cannot be severed under § 3.957 except for fraud or a defect in the record of service. Any reduction also has to run through § 3.105(e) — written proposal, 60 days to submit evidence, and 30 days under § 3.105(i) to request a predetermination hearing.
Where do shin splints get rated now?
Under the primary diagnosis. In practice that is usually DC 5262 for impairment of the tibia and fibula, with any limitation of ankle or knee motion rated under that joint’s own code and combined under § 4.25. If the condition progressed to a stress fracture, the fracture and its residuals are what should be claimed and documented.