Body system: Musculoskeletal SystemRegulation: 38 CFR § 4.71a
This rating covers injuries to your ulna, which is one of the two bones in your forearm (the one on your pinky side). The VA rates ulna impairment based on how severely the bone healed after injury - from 10% for poor alignment when it healed, up to 30% if you lost a significant piece of bone and have major deformity. The ratings reflect how much the injury limits your arm function and affects your daily activities.
Rating levels
- 40% — The ulna bone (one of the two bones in your forearm) has broken and failed to heal back together properly, creating abnormal movement where the break occurred. You've lost at least one inch of actual bone material, and the arm shows significant visible deformity or abnormal shape. This creates a false joint that moves in ways it shouldn't, affecting your arm's normal function and appearance.
- 30% — The upper half of your ulna bone (the forearm bone on the pinky side) has failed to heal properly after a break, creating abnormal movement where the bone should be solid. You've lost at least one inch of actual bone material, and the arm has significant visible deformity or misshapen appearance as a result.
- 30% — A bone break in the upper half of your ulna (the bone on the pinky side of your forearm) has failed to heal properly, creating what's called a "nonunion" where the broken pieces never fused back together. This creates abnormal movement at the break site where your arm shouldn't normally bend or move, but the broken bone pieces haven't lost any bone material and aren't visibly deformed or crooked.
- 20% — Your ulna bone (one of the two bones in your forearm) has a nonunion fracture (the broken bone pieces never healed back together properly) in the upper half near your elbow. This creates false movement (abnormal bending or wiggling where the bone should be solid), but you haven't lost any actual bone material and the arm doesn't appear visibly deformed or bent out of shape.
- 20% — A break in the lower half of your ulna bone (the wrist end of your forearm bone on the pinky side) never healed back together. The two ends of the bone stay separate, leaving abnormal movement near the wrist and weakening your forearm strength and stability.
- 20% — A break in the lower half of your ulna bone (the wrist end of your forearm bone on the pinky side) never healed back together. The two ends of the bone stay separate, leaving abnormal movement near the wrist and weakening your forearm strength and stability.
- 10% — Your ulna bone healed after a break, but in the wrong position. The bone fused together with the pieces lined up poorly, leaving your forearm visibly bent or misaligned and affecting how your wrist and elbow move.
- 10% — Your ulna bone healed after a break, but in the wrong position. The bone fused together with the pieces lined up poorly, leaving your forearm visibly bent or misaligned and affecting how your wrist and elbow move.