Reference: 38 CFR 4.55, 4.56, 4.73

Sources & Related Guides

What is the VA rating for Muscle Injuries?

Review Muscle Injuries guidance covering all 31 diagnostic codes in DC 5301-5331, per RSCH-037: 23 muscle groups (Groups I-XXIII), 6 miscellaneous codes, and 2 disclosure-only combination codes. Groups I-VIII carry a Major/Minor (dominant/nondominant) split, the same axis this site's Peripheral Nerves, Upper Extremity hub uses.

Condition Overview & Clinical Scope

VA rates muscle injuries across 31 diagnostic codes (DC 5301-5331) spanning 23 numbered muscle groups plus 6 miscellaneous codes and 2 disclosure-only combination codes. Groups I-VIII (DC 5301-5308) rate the major (dominant) and minor (non-dominant) extremity on distinct percentage columns -- the same dominance axis this site's Peripheral Nerves, Upper Extremity hub uses. Most other groups are single-column tables with no dominance split.

EXPLORE THIS CONDITION

Explore Muscle Injuries Criteria & Tools

Start AssessmentAnswer condition-scoped questions using documented findings from your records or exam notes.ContinuePercentage GuideSee the published percentage tiers and what changes between them.ContinueSecondary ConditionsSee conditions commonly connected to this one in VA claims.Continue

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Common Questions & FAQs

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What are you trying to understand about muscle injuries?

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Overview

About this condition

VA rates muscle injuries across 31 diagnostic codes (DC 5301-5331) spanning 23 numbered muscle groups plus 6 miscellaneous codes and 2 disclosure-only combination codes. Groups I-VIII (DC 5301-5308) rate the major (dominant) and minor (non-dominant) extremity on distinct percentage columns -- the same dominance axis this site's Peripheral Nerves, Upper Extremity hub uses. Most other groups are single-column tables with no dominance split.

Regulatory authority: 38 CFR 4.55, 4.56, 4.73, Diagnostic Codes 5301-5331

This hub explains the published DC 5301-5331 schedule and common record language. It does not diagnose a condition, determine service connection, infer undocumented findings, estimate an outcome, or replace medical care or accredited representation. IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES: (1) 38 CFR 4.55(c)(2) requires elevating a shoulder muscle rating (DC 5200, ankylosis of scapulohumeral articulation) to the unfavorable level when Muscle Groups I and II are severely disabled and that level is not already assigned -- this cross-reference to this site's Shoulder/Arm hub is disclosed only, never auto-elevated. (2) DC 5325 (facial muscle group injury) and DC 5328 (functional-impairment-rated dispatch) each name an open-ended 'etc.' destination set in the regulation's own text rather than one specific diagnostic code -- disclosed as a genuine ambiguity, never resolved by guessing a destination. (3) DC 5331 (muscle and nerve injury to the same body part) raises 38 CFR 4.55(a)'s own combination question -- whether and how a muscle-group rating and a peripheral-nerve rating for the identical body part combine without pyramiding is a genuinely disclosed, unresolved ambiguity, never auto-computed. (4) DC 5330 (multiple muscle groups injured in the same anatomical region) requires rating each affected group separately and combining under 38 CFR 4.25 -- disclosed, not auto-combined. (5) DC 5324 is a pure redirect to DC 7346 (hernia), carrying no independent muscle-group criteria of its own. (6) 38 CFR 4.55(d)'s per-joint cap (the combined evaluation of muscle groups acting on a single unankylosed joint must be lower than that joint's unfavorable-ankylosis rating) has no stated order of operations against the 38 CFR 4.26 bilateral factor when the same cap applies to both members of a paired extremity -- the same genuinely open question this site's Amputations hub discloses for 38 CFR 4.68's amputation-rule ceiling, disclosed here rather than guessed.

Percentage Guides

Understanding Your Percentage

Select a pathway to see what the published criteria ask about, what records may clarify it, and what should not be assumed.

40% (DC 5301, Group I, severe, Major)

Highest listed pathway

Severe disability of Group I (extrinsic muscles of the shoulder girdle), major (dominant) extremity.

What separates the next level: The identical clinical picture on the minor (non-dominant) extremity is 30 percent instead -- every one of Groups I-VIII rates major and minor extremities on distinct columns.

Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
5301 Group I: Severe -- Major 40, Minor 30.
Qualification explanation
Reached when 38 CFR 4.56's cardinal signs and symptoms establish a severe classification for this muscle group.
Examples
Records document severe disability of the dominant shoulder girdle's extrinsic muscles, confirmed by 4.56's cardinal signs.
Medical evidence
Muscles DBQ; Surgical and treatment records documenting the affected muscle group; Clinical findings supporting the 4.56 severity classification
Functional impact examples
Severe loss of shoulder girdle muscle function on the dominant side.
Common misconceptions
Group I is not the same table as Group II or Group III, even though all three cover 'extrinsic muscles of the shoulder girdle' -- their moderate tiers differ (Group I: 10/10; Groups II/III: 20/20).
Related topics
dominant-nondominant; severity-classification
Source context
38 CFR 4.73; 5301; Current DC 5301-5331 educational pathway.

60% (DC 5320, Group XX, severe, lumbosacral)

Highest listed pathway

Severe disability of Group XX (spinal muscles), lumbosacral (lower back) location -- this schedule's single highest tier outside DC 5327/5329's flat 100 percent codes.

What separates the next level: The identical severe classification for the cervical-thoracic (upper back) location is only 40 percent -- the two locations are not interchangeable, and this is the largest percentage gap between two sub-locations of the same group in this entire schedule.

Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
5320 Group XX: Lumbosacral -- Severe 60, Moderately severe 40, Moderate 20, Slight 0.
Qualification explanation
Group XX splits by spinal location rather than dominance -- lumbosacral (lower back) and cervical-thoracic (upper back) are rated on genuinely distinct scales, not a Major/Minor column.
Examples
Records document severe disability of the lumbosacral spinal muscles.
Medical evidence
Muscles DBQ; Spine and back muscle examination records
Functional impact examples
Severe loss of lower-back spinal muscle function.
Common misconceptions
Group XX is not one single scale -- the cervical-thoracic and lumbosacral sub-locations are separate tables with different values at every tier.
Related topics
severity-classification
Source context
38 CFR 4.73; 5320; Current DC 5301-5331 educational pathway.

20% (DC 5321, Group XXI, severe or moderately severe combined)

Highest listed pathway

Severe, or moderately severe, disability of Group XXI (thoracic muscles of respiration) -- a genuinely combined tier, unlike every other group's separate severe and moderately severe rows.

What separates the next level: Every other group in this schedule (aside from DC 5309's flat rate) rates severe and moderately severe as two distinct tiers with different percentages -- Group XXI does not.

Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
5321 Group XXI: Severe, or moderately severe -- 20. Moderate -- 10. Slight -- 0.
Qualification explanation
Group XXI is the only group in this schedule with just 3 tiers instead of 4 -- severe and moderately severe are not distinguished from one another.
Examples
Records document moderately severe disability of the thoracic muscles of respiration, resolving to the same 20 percent tier as severe.
Medical evidence
Muscles DBQ; Pulmonary or thoracic muscle function examination records
Functional impact examples
Impaired thoracic muscle function affecting respiration.
Common misconceptions
Do not look for a separate 'moderately severe' row for Group XXI distinct from 'severe' -- the regulation states them as one combined tier.
Related topics
severity-classification
Source context
38 CFR 4.73; 5321; Current DC 5301-5331 educational pathway.

10% (DC 5309, Group IX, flat minimum)

Highest listed pathway

Group IX (facial expression muscles associated with jaw movement) is a flat 10 percent minimum -- it has no severity tiers or Major/Minor split of its own.

What separates the next level: Unlike every other numbered muscle group, Group IX does not scale with severity -- it is a single stated minimum value.

Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
5309 Group IX (Facial muscles): ... rate as facial muscles, 10 percent, minimum.
Qualification explanation
This is a genuinely flat-rate code -- confirming the diagnosis is Group IX resolves directly to 10 percent, with no further severity or extremity fact needed.
Examples
Records confirm a facial expression muscle injury associated with jaw movement, resolving to the flat 10 percent minimum.
Medical evidence
Muscles DBQ; Facial and jaw muscle examination records
Functional impact examples
Impaired facial expression muscle function associated with jaw movement.
Common misconceptions
Do not look for 'slight,' 'moderate,' 'moderately severe,' or 'severe' options for Group IX -- none exist; it is one flat value.
Related topics
severity-classification
Source context
38 CFR 4.73; 5309; Current DC 5301-5331 educational pathway.

Learn

Understand the details behind the criteria

Use these short guides to connect published terms with the records and observations that may clarify them.

Why major and minor extremity ratings differ

Groups I-VIII (DC 5301-5308) distinguish the major and minor extremity. That means which arm is affected, and which arm is dominant, can change how a published pathway is described.

  • The dominant arm is commonly called the major extremity in the schedule; the nondominant arm is commonly called the minor extremity.
  • A right arm is not always the major extremity, and a left arm is not always the minor extremity.
  • Records are clearest when the DBQ or exam identifies the affected muscle group, side, and dominant hand directly.
  • RatingScope does not infer dominant-side status when it is missing.
  • Only Groups I-VIII carry this split -- Groups IX-XXIII and the miscellaneous codes do not distinguish dominance.

Records to review: Muscles DBQ; dominant-hand documentation; C&P examination history.

How 38 CFR 4.56 classifies muscle injury severity

Every muscle group's percentage table (aside from DC 5309's flat rate) is keyed to a slight/moderate/moderately-severe/severe classification defined by 38 CFR 4.56's cardinal signs and symptoms of muscle disability -- the same classification framework reused across all 23 numbered groups.

  • 38 CFR 4.56 describes objective findings (such as loss of muscle substance, disability of muscle function, and residual scars) that distinguish each severity level.
  • The classification is documented once per affected muscle group, then applied to that group's own specific percentage table -- Group I's 'severe' and Group XIX's 'severe' resolve to different percentages, but the underlying severity classification framework is shared.
  • Group XXI (DC 5321) is the one exception -- it has only 3 tiers, with severe and moderately severe sharing one combined value.

Records to review: Muscles DBQ; Surgical and treatment records; Clinical findings supporting the 4.56 severity classification.

The Group I/II shoulder muscle elevation cross-reference

38 CFR 4.55(c)(2) requires elevating a shoulder joint's ankylosis rating (DC 5200) to the unfavorable level when Muscle Groups I and II are severely disabled and that level is not already assigned -- a real cross-reference to this site's Shoulder/Arm hub.

  • This rule only applies when Muscle Groups I and II are BOTH severely disabled -- not just one, and not at any lesser severity.
  • RatingScope discloses this cross-reference clearly rather than auto-elevating a Shoulder/Arm DC 5200 rating based on this hub's own facts.
  • Review both this hub's Group I/II findings and the Shoulder/Arm hub's DC 5200 findings together if this cross-reference may apply to your records.

Records to review: This site's Shoulder/Arm hub; Shoulder range-of-motion and ankylosis examination records.

Muscle and nerve injury to the same body part: a genuinely open question

DC 5331 addresses muscle and nerve injury to the same body part, but 38 CFR 4.55(a)'s own combination mechanic for this exact scenario is disclosed as a genuinely unresolved ambiguity, not guessed at.

  • Whether and how a muscle-group rating and a peripheral-nerve rating for the identical body part may be combined without double-counting the same underlying impairment is not mechanically resolved by this hub.
  • RatingScope discloses this as an open question rather than guessing whether combination applies, and never auto-computes a combined result across this hub and a peripheral-nerves hub.
  • This site's Peripheral Nerves, Upper Extremity hub is one of the peripheral-nerve pathways this question can intersect with, depending on the affected body part.

Records to review: This site's Peripheral Nerves, Upper Extremity hub; Neurological and muscle examination records documenting the same body part.

Multiple muscle groups injured in the same region (DC 5330)

DC 5330 addresses multiple muscle group injuries in the same anatomical region -- rate each affected group separately under its own diagnostic code, then combine under 38 CFR 4.25.

  • This is a disclosure-only mechanism -- RatingScope does not auto-compute a single combined result from multiple muscle-group findings.
  • Review each affected muscle group's own tier from this hub's rating criteria, then apply the combined-ratings table under 38 CFR 4.25 separately.

Records to review: This hub's own per-group rating criteria for each affected muscle group.

The 4.55(d) joint cap and the bilateral factor: the same open question as Amputations' NHD-1

38 CFR 4.55(d) caps the combined evaluation of muscle groups acting on a single unankylosed joint below that joint's unfavorable-ankylosis rating -- confirmed verbatim via two independent primary sources. Like 38 CFR 4.68's per-extremity Amputation Rule ceiling, 4.55(d) has no stated order of operations against 38 CFR 4.26's bilateral factor when the same joint cap applies to both members of a paired extremity.

  • 38 CFR 4.55(d), verbatim: 'The combined evaluation of muscle groups acting upon a single unankylosed joint must be lower than the evaluation for unfavorable ankylosis of that joint, except in the case of muscle groups I and II acting upon the shoulder.'
  • This is the same structural question this site's Amputations hub discloses under its NHD-1 topic for 38 CFR 4.68: does the joint cap apply first, to each side separately, before the bilateral 10 percent addition, or does the bilateral addition apply first, to an already-bundled two-side figure that the cap would then need to apply to? Neither section's text states which order applies.
  • RatingScope discloses this as genuinely open, not a routine deferral, and does not guess or default to either reading -- matching the same disclosure already given for the amputation-rule version of this same question.

Records to review: 38 CFR 4.55(d); 38 CFR 4.26; This site's Amputations hub.

Evidence

Evidence that may clarify the published criteria

Surgical and treatment records documenting the affected muscle group

Establishes which of the 23 numbered muscle groups (or which miscellaneous code) applies.

None -- required for every code in this hub.

Clinical findings supporting the 38 CFR 4.56 severity classification

Establishes whether the injury is slight, moderate, moderately severe, or severe.

Not required for DC 5309, 5326, 5327, or 5329, which are flat-rate codes.

Muscles Disability Benefits Questionnaire

VA's standardized exam form for muscle injury conditions.

A DBQ is one common evidence source, not the only way to document these findings.

Official VA Forms & DBQs

Downloadable DBQs & Supporting Claim Forms

Take the public DBQ to your private physician or review it prior to your C&P examination.

Terminology

Plain-English terms

Major extremity

Whichever hand a person naturally uses more (usually the hand they write with).

Groups I-VIII rate Major and Minor extremities on distinct percentage columns -- a genuinely load-bearing fact, not a formality.

Examination records confirming hand dominance; dominant-nondominant

Back to rating criteriaCompare your records

Minor extremity

Whichever hand a person naturally uses less (usually the hand they don't write with).

Major/minor distinctions must be preserved and should not be guessed -- Groups I-VIII rate the two sides on distinct percentage columns.

Examination records confirming hand dominance; dominant-nondominant

Back to rating criteriaCompare your records

TDIU

Even if the schedular rating for Muscle Injuries does not reach 100 percent, TDIU may still provide a pathway to compensation at the 100 percent rate, based on unemployability from this and/or other service-connected disabilities combined.

A lower schedular percentage does not by itself foreclose TDIU eligibility -- this hub computes only the schedular percentage for this specific condition and does not determine TDIU eligibility.

Employment history; vocational impact documentation; occupational impairment

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Common Questions

Questions veterans commonly ask

Does it matter which arm is dominant?

Yes, but only for Groups I-VIII (DC 5301-5308). Those 8 groups rate major (dominant) and minor (non-dominant) extremities on distinct percentage columns. Groups IX-XXIII and the miscellaneous codes do not distinguish dominance.

How does VA classify muscle injury severity?

Through 38 CFR 4.56's cardinal signs and symptoms of muscle disability, which classify an injury as slight, moderate, moderately severe, or severe. That classification is then applied to the specific muscle group's own percentage table.

What about my shoulder and the muscle-group elevation rule?

38 CFR 4.55(c)(2) requires elevating a DC 5200 shoulder ankylosis rating to the unfavorable level when Muscle Groups I and II are both severely disabled and that level isn't already assigned. RatingScope discloses this cross-reference to the Shoulder/Arm hub but does not auto-elevate a result.

What if I have both a muscle and a nerve injury in the same body part?

DC 5331 addresses this scenario, but 38 CFR 4.55(a)'s own combination mechanic is a genuinely unresolved ambiguity. RatingScope discloses this as an open question rather than guessing whether or how to combine the two ratings.

What if more than one muscle group is injured?

DC 5330 addresses this -- rate each affected muscle group separately under its own diagnostic code, then combine under 38 CFR 4.25. RatingScope does not auto-compute a single combined result.

If my schedular rating for Muscle Injuries is below 100%, can I still be compensated at the 100% rate?

Possibly, through TDIU (Total Disability rating based on Individual Unemployability, 38 CFR 4.16) -- a separate pathway to 100 percent compensation based on unemployability, from this and/or other service-connected disabilities combined, independent of whether the schedular rating itself reaches 100 percent. This hub computes only the schedular percentage and does not determine TDIU eligibility.

What separates the 40% (DC 5301, Group I, severe, Major) rating from adjacent levels?

The identical clinical picture on the minor (non-dominant) extremity is 30 percent instead -- every one of Groups I-VIII rates major and minor extremities on distinct columns.

What separates the 60% (DC 5320, Group XX, severe, lumbosacral) rating from adjacent levels?

The identical severe classification for the cervical-thoracic (upper back) location is only 40 percent -- the two locations are not interchangeable, and this is the largest percentage gap between two sub-locations of the same group in this entire schedule.

What separates the 20% (DC 5321, Group XXI, severe or moderately severe combined) rating from adjacent levels?

Every other group in this schedule (aside from DC 5309's flat rate) rates severe and moderately severe as two distinct tiers with different percentages -- Group XXI does not.

What separates the 10% (DC 5309, Group IX, flat minimum) rating from adjacent levels?

Unlike every other numbered muscle group, Group IX does not scale with severity -- it is a single stated minimum value.

Related Conditions

Continue learning through connected topics

Shoulder / Arm

38 CFR 4.55(c)(2) requires elevating a severely disabled Group I/II shoulder muscle rating to Shoulder/Arm's DC 5200 unfavorable-ankylosis level, if not already assigned.

Peripheral Nerves, Upper Extremity

DC 5331's muscle-and-nerve-injury-to-the-same-body-part question can intersect with this hub's upper-extremity nerve findings, disclosed as a genuinely open combination question.

Ready when you are

Compare documented muscle injury findings

Use the muscle group, severity, and extremity-dominance language already documented in your records. Do not upload records or enter Social Security numbers, claim numbers, full dates of birth, or other sensitive identifiers. RatingScope does not infer missing findings.

Informational guidance only. RatingScope does not predict, decide, or guarantee VA outcomes.

Compare my muscle injury records

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Continue Understanding

Secondary conditions

Conditions commonly connected to Muscle Injuries

No commonly documented secondary connections are tracked for Muscle Injuries yet.

Educational Guides & Evidence Resources

In-depth analysis of DBQ forms, medical evidence thresholds, and rating schedules for Muscle Injuries.

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