Guide series
Plantar Fasciitis, Flat Feet, and Ankle VA Claims: Complete Guide Series
Plain-English guides to foot and ankle VA disability claims: plantar fasciitis under Diagnostic Code 5269, flat feet under 5276, ankle ratings, secondary claims from an altered gait, and the evidence each one needs.
Overview
Start here: feet & lower legs basics.
Feet and ankles absorb everything service asks of them, and the conditions that follow - plantar fasciitis, collapsed arches, chronically unstable ankles - raise several separate questions: whether years of load-bearing can be connected to a condition diagnosed later, how each condition is measured under the rating schedule, and when a service-connected knee or back supports a foot claim.
The guides below work through each question using the VA's own regulations. Start with the overview, then read the guide that matches your situation.
Plantar Fasciitis and VA Disability: How Service Connection Works
How the VA decides plantar fasciitis and foot claims: the three elements of service connection, why years of marching and load-bearing matter, and where a medical opinion fits.
Read the main guideIn this series
Go deeper on your situation.
8 min readPlantar Fasciitis VA Ratings: Diagnostic Code 5269 Explained
How Diagnostic Code 5269 rates plantar fasciitis at 10, 20, and 30 percent, what responsive to treatment means, and how bilateral involvement changes the evaluation.
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8 min readFlat Feet (Pes Planus) VA Ratings: Diagnostic Code 5276
How the VA rates acquired flatfoot from 0 to 50 percent, what separates moderate from severe and pronounced, and how aggravation of pre-existing flat feet is handled.
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8 min readFoot Conditions Secondary to Knee and Back Disabilities
How an altered gait from a service-connected knee, ankle, or spine condition supports a secondary foot claim under 38 CFR 3.310, and what the opinion has to establish.
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8 min readAnkle VA Ratings: Limited Motion, Instability, and Ankylosis
How the VA rates ankle conditions: limitation of motion under Diagnostic Code 5271, ankylosis under 5270, instability, painful motion, and repeated sprains from service.
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7 min readMedical Evidence for Foot and Ankle Claims: What to Gather
The records that decide foot and ankle claims: service treatment entries, treatment response documentation, the first year after separation, lay evidence, and the opinion.
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