Body system: Muscle InjuriesRegulation: 38 CFR § 4.73
This diagnostic code covers muscle injuries affecting your neck and shoulder movement - specifically the deep muscles at the base of your skull and along your neck that control head turning and shoulder stability. The VA rates these injuries from 0% to 30% based on how severely they limit your range of motion and daily activities. Higher ratings reflect more significant limitations in turning your head, looking up or down, or performing tasks that require neck and shoulder coordination.
Rating levels
- 30% — You have severe damage or injury to the muscles in your neck that control head movement and help stabilize your shoulder. These muscles include the small muscles at the base of your skull (suboccipital muscles) and the muscles along the sides and front of your neck vertebrae that allow you to turn, tilt, and move your head in different directions. The damage significantly limits your ability to move your head normally and affects how your neck supports shoulder movements.
- 20% — You have moderately severe damage to the muscles on the sides and back of your neck that control head movement and help stabilize your shoulders. This means you have significant pain, stiffness, or weakness when turning your head, tilting it side to side, or moving your shoulders, but you can still perform these movements with some difficulty.
- 10% — You have moderate problems with the muscles on the sides and back of your neck that control head movement and help stabilize your shoulders. This means you experience noticeable but not severe pain, stiffness, or weakness in these neck muscles that affects your ability to turn your head, look up and down, or move your shoulders normally, but you can still perform most daily activities with some difficulty.
- 0% — You have slight problems with the muscles in your neck that control head movement and help stabilize your shoulders. These muscles include the small muscles at the base of your skull (suboccipital muscles) and the muscles along the sides and front of your neck vertebrae that help you turn, tilt, and move your head in different directions. Your neck muscle injury causes only minor limitations in how well you can move your head or use these muscles to support shoulder movements.