Body system: Musculoskeletal SystemRegulation: 38 CFR § 4.71a
This diagnostic code covers wrist injuries or conditions that limit your ability to bend your wrist down toward your palm (called palmar flexion). The VA only offers a 10% rating for this specific limitation, which means your wrist can only bend down to where it's in line with your forearm, rather than the normal 80+ degrees of movement. This is a pretty narrow rating that focuses solely on this one type of wrist movement restriction.
Rating levels
- 10% — You qualify if you cannot bend your wrist backward (dorsiflexion is lifting your hand up toward your forearm) to at least 15 degrees from the neutral position. Normal wrist dorsiflexion is about 70 degrees, so this rating applies when your upward wrist movement is severely limited to less than 15 degrees.
- 10% — You qualify if you cannot bend your wrist backward (dorsiflexion is lifting your hand up toward your forearm) to at least 15 degrees from the neutral position. Normal wrist dorsiflexion is about 70 degrees, so this rating applies when your upward wrist movement is severely limited to less than 15 degrees.
- 10% — Your wrist cannot bend downward toward your palm at all - it can only move to where your hand forms a straight line with your forearm (palmar flexion is the motion of bending your wrist so your palm moves toward the underside of your forearm). This represents a significant loss of normal wrist flexibility where the joint is essentially locked in a neutral, straight position.
- 10% — Your wrist cannot bend downward toward your palm at all - it can only move to where your hand forms a straight line with your forearm (palmar flexion is the motion of bending your wrist so your palm moves toward the underside of your forearm). This represents a significant loss of normal wrist flexibility where the joint is essentially locked in a neutral, straight position.