Body system: Musculoskeletal SystemRegulation: 38 CFR § 4.71a
This rating covers your leg when you can't fully straighten it at the knee - meaning your knee stays partially bent and won't extend to a normal straight position. The VA measures how many degrees short of straight your leg can extend, with ratings from 0% to 50% depending on the severity. The more limited your extension (the more your knee stays bent), the higher your rating - so a leg that only extends to 45 degrees gets 50%, while one that extends to just 5 degrees short of normal gets 0%.
Rating levels
- 50% — Your leg cannot straighten out beyond 45 degrees from a bent position. This means when you try to extend (straighten) your leg fully, it gets stuck at about a 45-degree angle and cannot reach the normal straight position that a healthy leg can achieve.
- 40% — Your leg can only straighten out to 30 degrees, which means you cannot fully extend or straighten your leg. Extension refers to the movement of straightening your leg from a bent position, and normal full extension would be 0 degrees (completely straight).
- 30% — Your knee can only straighten to within 20 degrees of being completely straight. This means when you try to fully extend your leg, it stops well short of the normal straight position that a healthy knee can achieve (which is 0 degrees or completely straight).
- 20% — Your leg cannot straighten out fully and stops at 15 degrees short of being completely straight. This means when you try to extend your leg (straighten it out from a bent position), there's significant limitation in how far it can go, leaving it noticeably bent even when you're trying your hardest to make it straight.
- 10% — Your leg can only straighten out to 10 degrees past a bent position. Extension means your ability to straighten your leg fully (like when you're standing up straight or lying flat), and this rating applies when your knee or hip joint is so stiff or damaged that it stops moving at just 10 degrees of straightening.
- 0% — Your leg can only straighten out to within 5 degrees of being completely straight. Extension refers to your ability to fully straighten your leg at the knee joint, and this rating applies when you're missing just those last 5 degrees of motion from a normal, fully extended position.