VA disability ratings for radiculopathy range from 10% to 80% under 38 CFR 4.124a based on incomplete or complete paralysis of the affected peripheral nerve. The schedule evaluates severity as mild, moderate, or severe impairment rather than symptom counts alone, and separate ratings are assigned for each affected nerve root without violating anti-pyramiding rules.
This Radiculopathy hub covers lower-extremity (leg) sciatic and femoral nerve pathways only. The schedule uses severity terms such as mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, and complete paralysis rather than a universal numeric symptom-count formula, and the available percentages differ by nerve. RatingScope does not turn vague pain, numbness, or tingling into a severity level: the deterministic comparison requires the documented nerve, side, and severity, plus marked atrophy or complete-paralysis facts when a pathway calls for them.
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Common Questions & FAQs
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What are you trying to understand about radiculopathy?
This Radiculopathy hub covers lower-extremity (leg) sciatic and femoral nerve pathways only. The schedule uses severity terms such as mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, and complete paralysis rather than a universal numeric symptom-count formula, and the available percentages differ by nerve. RatingScope does not turn vague pain, numbness, or tingling into a severity level: the deterministic comparison requires the documented nerve, side, and severity, plus marked atrophy or complete-paralysis facts when a pathway calls for them.
Regulatory authority: 38 CFR 4.124a, Diseases of the Peripheral Nerves
This guide explains published lower-extremity sciatic and femoral criteria. It does not diagnose radiculopathy, infer the affected nerve or side, determine service connection, or predict a VA decision. Upper-extremity symptoms require a different nerve-specific review and are not evaluated by the current comparison. ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES: (1) 38 CFR 4.124a directs that peripheral nerve ratings are for unilateral involvement and, when bilateral, to combine with application of the bilateral factor (38 CFR 4.26) -- RatingScope's assessment tool computes this automatically only for the case where the same documented severity applies to both legs; a different severity documented for each leg is not yet collectible through the current intake and is not guessed at. (2) A separate Note in this same regulatory table, positioned immediately before the sciatic nerve table (DC 8520) begins, states that combined nerve injuries should be rated by reference to the major involvement, or if sufficient in extent, consider radicular group ratings -- whether this Note extends to lower-extremity nerves like sciatic and femoral, or applies only to the upper-extremity portion of the table, is genuinely unclear from the regulation's own text. RatingScope discloses this as an open question rather than resolving it, and still routes documented same-limb sciatic-and-femoral findings to the general Combined Ratings tool.
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.
0%
Next: 10%
The sciatic and femoral nerve diagnostic codes do not list a 0% level. Under 38 CFR 4.31, a 0% educational context can apply only when enough information exists to review the condition and the requirements for a compensable level are not met.
What separates the next level: The 10% sciatic and femoral pathways begin with documented mild incomplete paralysis of the identified nerve and side.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
38 CFR 4.31 explains that when a diagnostic code does not provide a zero percent evaluation, zero percent is assigned when the requirements for a compensable evaluation are not met.
Qualification explanation
This context is not produced from missing detail. If the affected nerve, side, severity, or pathway-specific neurologic findings are missing or unclear, RatingScope returns Needs more detail and does not show a guidance level.
Examples
A clinician has identified the affected lower-extremity nerve and side, but the available findings do not describe mild incomplete paralysis.; The record contains enough neurologic detail for review without showing a compensable sciatic or femoral pathway.; A needs-more-detail result is kept separate from this educational context.
Medical evidence
Peripheral Nerves DBQ or neurologic examination; Identification of the affected nerve and side; Sensory, reflex, strength, and other pathway-specific findings
Functional impact examples
Symptoms may still affect daily activity even when the supplied findings do not describe a compensable pathway.; A 0% context does not mean that symptoms are imaginary or unimportant.
Common misconceptions
0% is not a denial prediction.; Missing severity detail is not evidence of a 0% pathway.; A diagnosis alone does not identify a compensable severity level.
Related topics
sufficient detail; noncompensable context; needs more detail
Source context
38 CFR 4.31 and 4.124a; 8520 and 8526; Current educational context for codes without a listed zero percent evaluation.
10%
Next: 20%
The 10% level describes mild incomplete paralysis of either the sciatic nerve under DC 8520 or the femoral nerve under DC 8526.
What separates the next level: The 20% pathways require moderate incomplete paralysis of the identified sciatic or femoral nerve.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
The published sciatic and anterior crural (femoral) nerve schedules each list mild incomplete paralysis at 10 percent.
Qualification explanation
The record must identify the affected nerve, the affected side, and mild incomplete-paralysis severity. RatingScope does not infer mild severity from tingling, pain, a diagnosis, or imaging alone.
Examples
A lower-extremity neurologic record identifies mild incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve on one side.; A clinician identifies mild incomplete paralysis of the femoral nerve on one side.; The nerve, side, and severity are each explicit rather than assumed.
Medical evidence
Peripheral Nerves DBQ; Neurologic examination identifying nerve and side; Sensory, reflex, and strength findings supporting the clinician's severity description
Functional impact examples
Intermittent altered sensation documented in the affected distribution; Mild activity limits described alongside the neurologic findings; Symptoms that remain predominantly sensory
Common misconceptions
Tingling alone does not identify a percentage.; The word radiculopathy does not identify the affected nerve or severity.; Sciatic and femoral pathways use separate nerve-specific records even when they share this percentage.
38 CFR 4.124a; 8520 and 8526; Current lower-extremity peripheral nerve educational pathways.
20%
Next: 30% or 40%, depending on the affected nerve
The 20% level describes moderate incomplete paralysis of either the sciatic nerve under DC 8520 or the femoral nerve under DC 8526.
What separates the next level: The next route depends on the nerve: severe femoral incomplete paralysis is 30%, while moderately severe sciatic incomplete paralysis is 40%.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
The published sciatic and anterior crural (femoral) nerve schedules each list moderate incomplete paralysis at 20 percent.
Qualification explanation
The record must identify the affected nerve, side, and moderate incomplete-paralysis severity. Sensory findings, reflexes, strength, atrophy, and functional effects may help explain that description, but RatingScope does not create a severity label from a private score.
Examples
A clinician documents moderate incomplete paralysis of one sciatic nerve.; A clinician documents moderate incomplete paralysis of one femoral nerve.; The examination records sensory, reflex, strength, and functional context for the identified nerve.
Medical evidence
Peripheral Nerves DBQ severity selection; Neurologic sensory, reflex, and motor examination; Treatment notes describing the longitudinal pattern
Functional impact examples
Documented difficulty with prolonged standing or walking; Functional limits tied to weakness, altered sensation, or pain; Changes in activity explained together with objective neurologic findings
Common misconceptions
Moderate is a documented clinical severity description, not a mathematical midpoint.; MRI severity does not automatically establish moderate paralysis.; A symptom count does not replace nerve-specific neurologic findings.
38 CFR 4.124a; 8520 and 8526; Current lower-extremity peripheral nerve educational pathways.
30%
Next: 40%
The 30% level is a femoral nerve pathway for severe incomplete paralysis under DC 8526. The sciatic nerve schedule does not have a 30% level.
What separates the next level: Moderate femoral incomplete paralysis is 20%. Complete femoral paralysis of the quadriceps extensor muscles is 40%.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
The anterior crural (femoral) nerve schedule lists severe incomplete paralysis at 30 percent.
Qualification explanation
The record must identify the femoral nerve, the affected side, and severe incomplete-paralysis severity. The pathway should not be applied to an unidentified nerve or to sciatic involvement.
Examples
A clinician identifies severe incomplete paralysis of the femoral nerve on one side.; The record separates severe incomplete paralysis from complete quadriceps extensor paralysis.; The femoral distribution and side are explicit.
Medical evidence
Peripheral Nerves DBQ identifying the femoral nerve; Strength testing involving knee extension and related femoral function; Sensory, reflex, atrophy, and functional findings
Functional impact examples
Substantial lower-extremity limits documented with severe femoral nerve findings; Difficulty with activities requiring stable knee extension; Functional effects described without assuming complete paralysis
Common misconceptions
30% is not a sciatic nerve pathway.; Severe symptoms do not automatically mean severe incomplete paralysis.; Quadriceps weakness is not automatically complete quadriceps extensor paralysis.
Related topics
femoral nerve; severe incomplete paralysis; quadriceps function
Source context
38 CFR 4.124a; 8526; Current femoral nerve educational pathway.
40%
Next: 60% for the sciatic pathway; no higher DC 8526 paralysis level for the femoral pathway
The 40% level can describe moderately severe incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve or complete paralysis of the femoral nerve with paralysis of the quadriceps extensor muscles.
What separates the next level: For sciatic involvement, the next level is severe incomplete paralysis with marked muscular atrophy at 60%. For femoral involvement, 40% is the highest listed DC 8526 paralysis level.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
The sciatic nerve schedule lists moderately severe incomplete paralysis at 40 percent. The anterior crural (femoral) nerve schedule lists complete paralysis of the quadriceps extensor muscles at 40 percent.
Qualification explanation
These are different nerve-specific pathways that share a percentage. The explanation must remain tied to the documented nerve and the corresponding finding; RatingScope does not blend them into one criterion.
Examples
A clinician documents moderately severe incomplete paralysis of one sciatic nerve.; A clinician documents complete femoral paralysis of the quadriceps extensor muscles on one side.; The result explanation identifies which of the two distinct pathways applies.
Medical evidence
Peripheral Nerves DBQ identifying nerve, side, and severity; Neurologic strength, sensory, reflex, and atrophy findings; Explicit quadriceps extensor paralysis finding for the complete femoral route
Functional impact examples
Significant walking or standing limits documented with sciatic neurologic findings; Loss of quadriceps extensor function documented for the complete femoral route; Use of an assistive device documented as context rather than a stand-alone criterion
Common misconceptions
Two routes sharing 40% does not make their medical findings interchangeable.; Moderately severe is a sciatic descriptor, not a femoral percentage label.; A knee complaint alone does not establish complete femoral paralysis.
Related topics
moderately severe sciatic paralysis; complete femoral paralysis; quadriceps extensor muscles
Source context
38 CFR 4.124a; 8520 and 8526; Current nerve-specific educational pathways that share a percentage.
60%
Next: 80%
The 60% level is a sciatic nerve pathway for severe incomplete paralysis with marked muscular atrophy.
What separates the next level: Moderately severe sciatic incomplete paralysis is 40%. The 80% route requires the specific complete-paralysis pattern listed under DC 8520.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
The sciatic nerve schedule lists severe incomplete paralysis, with marked muscular atrophy, at 60 percent.
Qualification explanation
The record must identify the sciatic nerve, affected side, severe incomplete-paralysis severity, and marked muscular atrophy. Severe symptoms without the required marked-atrophy finding do not establish this pathway.
Examples
A clinician documents severe incomplete paralysis of one sciatic nerve and marked muscular atrophy.; The atrophy finding is described as marked rather than inferred from ordinary weakness.; The complete sciatic-paralysis findings are not all present.
Medical evidence
Peripheral Nerves DBQ severity and muscle-atrophy findings; Muscle bulk or circumference findings when recorded; Neurologic examination identifying sciatic nerve and side
Functional impact examples
Severe lower-extremity limitation documented with marked muscle loss; Reduced endurance or mobility tied to the neurologic findings; Assistive-device use explained together with the examination rather than treated as automatic proof
Common misconceptions
Severe pain alone does not satisfy the marked-atrophy requirement.; General deconditioning is not automatically marked muscular atrophy.; This is a sciatic route; it is not a femoral nerve level.
Related topics
severe incomplete paralysis; marked muscular atrophy; sciatic nerve
Source context
38 CFR 4.124a; 8520; Current sciatic nerve educational pathway.
80%
Highest listed pathway
The 80% level is the complete sciatic paralysis pathway. The published description includes foot dangle and drop, no active movement possible below the knee, and weakened or lost knee flexion.
What separates the next level: The 60% route remains incomplete paralysis and requires severe severity with marked muscular atrophy. The 80% route requires the listed complete sciatic-paralysis pattern.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
The sciatic nerve schedule describes complete paralysis where the foot dangles and drops, no active movement is possible of muscles below the knee, and knee flexion is weakened or, very rarely, lost.
Qualification explanation
The affected side and sciatic nerve must be explicit, and each complete-paralysis finding required by the deterministic pathway must be documented. RatingScope does not infer the full pattern from foot drop alone.
Examples
The record identifies foot dangle or drop on the affected side.; The examination states that no active movement is possible below the knee.; Knee flexion is documented as weakened or lost, and the sciatic nerve and side are identified.
Medical evidence
Peripheral Nerves DBQ; Motor examination below the knee; Knee-flexion strength and foot-drop findings
Functional impact examples
Loss of active movement below the knee documented during examination; Foot drop affecting walking and foot clearance; Knee-flexion weakness or loss documented as part of the complete pattern
Common misconceptions
Foot drop alone does not establish every required finding.; Use of a brace or cane does not independently establish complete paralysis.; The 80% route is nerve- and side-specific.
Related topics
complete sciatic paralysis; foot drop; movement below the knee; knee flexion
Source context
38 CFR 4.124a; 8520; Current complete sciatic paralysis 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.
How sensory findings are documented
A neurologic examination may record light-touch sensation, numbness, tingling, burning, or altered feeling in a nerve distribution.
The affected location helps a clinician identify the nerve involved.
The schedule notes that wholly sensory involvement should generally be described as mild, or at most moderate.
A symptom report and an examination finding provide different kinds of context.
RatingScope does not infer a severity label from sensory symptoms alone.
Records to review: Peripheral Nerves DBQ; sensory examination; treatment notes.
Why reflex testing matters
Reflex testing records how a limb responds when a tendon is tapped and may add objective context to the neurologic examination.
Common lower-extremity testing includes knee and ankle reflexes.
A reduced, absent, or increased reflex should be read in the context of the whole examination.
Reflex findings may help clarify the pattern but do not independently assign a percentage.
The affected nerve and side still need to be explicit.
Records to review: neurologic examination; Peripheral Nerves DBQ; C&P examination report.
How muscle strength is recorded
Motor testing records the strength of specific movements and can help show whether nerve involvement extends beyond sensory symptoms.
The examiner may grade movements such as knee extension, ankle movement, and toe movement.
The tested movement helps connect weakness to an anatomic pattern.
Ordinary weakness is not automatically paralysis or marked muscular atrophy.
Complete sciatic and femoral pathways require their own explicit movement findings.
Records to review: motor strength examination; Peripheral Nerves DBQ; physical therapy notes.
What EMG and nerve-conduction studies can show
Electrodiagnostic studies may help identify nerve-root or peripheral-nerve dysfunction and its distribution, but they do not assign a VA percentage.
EMG records electrical activity in muscles.
Nerve-conduction studies measure signal transmission along tested nerves.
Results can support localization and clinical context when interpreted by a clinician.
A normal, abnormal, old, or active finding must still be understood with symptoms and examination results.
Records to review: EMG report; nerve-conduction study; neurology consultation.
Why MRI findings do not set the percentage
Spine imaging can show anatomy that may relate to nerve-root irritation or compression, but the peripheral nerve schedule describes neurologic impairment rather than imaging severity alone.
Imaging may identify disc, foraminal, canal, or surgical findings.
Severe-sounding imaging does not automatically establish severe incomplete paralysis.
Mild imaging does not erase documented neurologic impairment.
The nerve-specific examination remains essential to understanding the pathway.
Records to review: lumbar MRI; cervical MRI; clinical correlation.
How incomplete paralysis differs from complete paralysis
Incomplete paralysis means impaired function that is substantially less than the complete-paralysis picture described for the nerve.
The schedule uses mild, moderate, and nerve-specific higher severity descriptions.
The words are clinical severity categories rather than a veteran-completed point system.
Sensory, reflex, motor, atrophy, and functional findings can help explain the recorded category.
RatingScope consumes the documented severity and does not manufacture it.
Records to review: Peripheral Nerves DBQ; neurologic examination; clinical severity assessment.
Why complete paralysis is nerve-specific
The complete-paralysis description depends on the affected nerve. Sciatic and femoral complete paralysis are not interchangeable.
Complete sciatic paralysis uses the listed foot, below-knee movement, and knee-flexion pattern.
Complete femoral paralysis uses paralysis of the quadriceps extensor muscles.
The affected side must be identified.
One severe symptom should not be expanded into an undocumented complete pattern.
Records to review: Peripheral Nerves DBQ; motor examination; nerve identification.
Common radiculopathy C&P examination misunderstandings
A C&P examination gathers medical findings for VA review. It is not a treatment visit, and the examiner does not issue the final benefits decision.
Describe symptoms and functional effects accurately without trying to perform for a result.
The examination may compare sensation, reflexes, strength, atrophy, gait, and nerve distributions.
A contractor examiner and a VA examiner gather evidence for the same adjudication process.
The final record should be understood with the other evidence, not as a prediction from one test.
Records to review: C&P examination report; Peripheral Nerves DBQ; medical records.
Common evidence misunderstandings
No single diagnosis, scan, symptom, treatment, or assistive device automatically establishes a nerve-specific severity level.
Keep the nerve, side, and severity visible in the record.
Separate sensory symptoms from motor, reflex, and atrophy findings.
Use firsthand statements to describe observed function, not to assign clinical severity.
Missing findings should remain missing rather than being inferred from a related diagnosis.
Records to review: neurologic examination; treatment records; lay evidence.
How RatingScope handles bilateral (both-legs) involvement under 38 CFR 4.26
38 CFR 4.124a's own introductory note for the peripheral nerve schedule states: "The ratings for the peripheral nerves are for unilateral involvement; when bilateral, combine with application of the bilateral factor." 38 CFR 4.26 explains that factor: when a partial disability results from disease or injury of both legs, the ratings for the right and left sides are combined as usual, and 10 percent of that value is added (not combined) before proceeding with further combinations or converting to a degree of disability.
Confirmed verbatim via two independent primary sources.
RatingScope's assessment tool computes this bilateral factor automatically for the case where the same documented severity applies to both legs -- the current intake collects one severity value regardless of side, so this computation covers that same-severity-both-legs case only.
A different severity documented for each leg (asymmetric bilateral involvement) is not yet collectible through the current intake and is not guessed at.
This computation is separate from ordinary combined-ratings math between unrelated conditions; it applies the extra 10 percent bump specific to paired-extremity involvement before any further combination.
Records to review: 38 CFR 4.124a's own introductory note; 38 CFR 4.26.
Same-limb sciatic and femoral findings: the "combined nerve injuries" Note
38 CFR 4.124a's peripheral nerve schedule includes a Note, positioned immediately before the sciatic nerve table (DC 8520) begins: "Combined nerve injuries should be rated by reference to the major involvement, or if sufficient in extent, consider radicular group ratings." Whether this Note applies to lower-extremity nerves (including sciatic and femoral) or only to the upper-extremity portion of the same table is genuinely unclear from the regulation's plain text.
Confirmed verbatim via two independent primary sources; the Note's placement immediately before DC 8520 is confirmed the same way.
"Radicular group" ratings (DC 8510-8513) are exclusively an upper-extremity concept -- there is no lower-extremity radicular-group equivalent in this schedule -- which points toward the Note's second option having no literal application here even if the Note itself extends to lower-extremity nerves. Neither this fact nor the Note's placement definitively resolves the scope question.
RatingScope routes documented sciatic-and-femoral findings in the same limb to the general Combined Ratings tool and does not auto-apply this Note's major-involvement logic -- if your records document injury to more than one nerve in the same limb, review this Note's applicability directly against the regulation's current text or with an accredited representative before assuming ordinary combination applies.
This same Note and the same genuinely-open scope question are also disclosed in RatingScope's Peripheral Nerves (Lower Extremity) hub, which covers this schedule's other lower-extremity nerves.
Records to review: 38 CFR 4.124a's own table-wide Notes.
Even if the schedular rating for Radiculopathy 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.
VA uses nerve-specific criteria in 38 CFR 4.124a. RatingScope's current comparison covers lower-extremity sciatic and femoral pathways using the documented nerve, side, incomplete-paralysis severity, and any required complete-paralysis or marked-atrophy findings.
What does mild incomplete paralysis mean?
It is the lowest compensable severity label listed for the sciatic and femoral nerve pathways. The record still needs to identify the nerve and side; RatingScope does not infer mild severity from a symptom alone.
What does moderate incomplete paralysis mean?
It is a clinical severity description listed at 20% for both sciatic and femoral nerves. It is not a point total, and should be understood through the nerve-specific examination and supporting findings.
What is the difference between incomplete and complete paralysis?
Incomplete paralysis means function is impaired but remains substantially less affected than the nerve's complete-paralysis picture. Complete sciatic and complete femoral paralysis have different listed findings and cannot be substituted for one another.
Do numbness and tingling determine the percentage?
No. They are important symptoms, but the schedule and examination consider the nerve, side, sensory pattern, motor findings, reflexes, atrophy, and the documented severity description. Wholly sensory involvement is generally described as mild, or at most moderate.
Do muscle weakness and reflex changes matter?
They can add objective context and help explain whether involvement extends beyond sensory symptoms. They should be tied to the tested movement, side, and nerve pattern rather than converted into a percentage on their own.
Does EMG or MRI determine the percentage?
No. EMG, nerve-conduction studies, and MRI may help explain localization or anatomy, but they do not independently assign a peripheral-nerve severity level. Clinical correlation and the nerve-specific examination still matter.
Can both legs be evaluated?
Both sides can be documented, but each side needs its own nerve and severity findings. This educational hub does not perform a combined-rating calculation or infer bilateral involvement.
Is radiculopathy separate from a back or neck condition?
Neurologic symptoms may be associated with a spine condition, but the spine motion or ankylosis criteria and the nerve-specific radiculopathy criteria are separate educational pathways. Service connection and whether a separate evaluation applies remain VA determinations.
What happens during a radiculopathy C&P exam?
The examiner may review history and symptoms, test strength, reflexes, and sensation, check for atrophy or trophic changes, identify affected nerves and sides, describe severity, review diagnostic tests, and record functional impact. The examination gathers evidence; it does not issue the final decision.
What happens if both legs are affected (bilateral involvement)?
38 CFR 4.124a directs that peripheral nerve ratings are for unilateral involvement, and when bilateral, to combine with application of the bilateral factor (38 CFR 4.26): the right- and left-side ratings are combined as usual, then 10 percent of that value is added before further combination. RatingScope's assessment tool computes this automatically when the same documented severity applies to both legs; a different severity for each leg is not yet collectible through the current intake.
What if I have both sciatic and femoral nerve findings in the same leg?
A Note in this same regulatory table states: "Combined nerve injuries should be rated by reference to the major involvement, or if sufficient in extent, consider radicular group ratings." It sits immediately before the sciatic nerve table begins, but whether it applies to lower-extremity nerves like sciatic and femoral, or only to the upper-extremity portion of the table, is genuinely unclear from the regulation's own text. RatingScope discloses this as an open question and routes same-limb combinations to the general Combined Ratings tool rather than resolving it.
If my schedular rating for Radiculopathy 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 0% rating from adjacent levels?
The 10% sciatic and femoral pathways begin with documented mild incomplete paralysis of the identified nerve and side.
What separates the 10% rating from adjacent levels?
The 20% pathways require moderate incomplete paralysis of the identified sciatic or femoral nerve.
What separates the 20% rating from adjacent levels?
The next route depends on the nerve: severe femoral incomplete paralysis is 30%, while moderately severe sciatic incomplete paralysis is 40%.
What separates the 30% rating from adjacent levels?
Moderate femoral incomplete paralysis is 20%. Complete femoral paralysis of the quadriceps extensor muscles is 40%.
What separates the 40% rating from adjacent levels?
For sciatic involvement, the next level is severe incomplete paralysis with marked muscular atrophy at 60%. For femoral involvement, 40% is the highest listed DC 8526 paralysis level.
What separates the 60% rating from adjacent levels?
Moderately severe sciatic incomplete paralysis is 40%. The 80% route requires the specific complete-paralysis pattern listed under DC 8520.
What separates the 80% rating from adjacent levels?
The 60% route remains incomplete paralysis and requires severe severity with marked muscular atrophy. The 80% route requires the listed complete sciatic-paralysis pattern.
This hub's deterministic comparison covers only lower-extremity sciatic and femoral pathways. Upper-extremity nerve findings (radial, median, ulnar, and related radicular groups) are evaluated separately under DC 8510-8519.
Neck conditions may involve upper-extremity neurologic symptoms, but RatingScope's current deterministic radiculopathy comparison is limited to lower-extremity sciatic and femoral pathways. See Peripheral Nerves, Upper Extremity for that pathway.
Learn the general VA math after keeping nerve route, side, and severity findings distinct.
Ready when you are
Compare documented lower-extremity findings
Use only findings already documented for the affected lower-extremity nerve and side. Do not upload records or enter Social Security numbers, claim numbers, full dates of birth, or other sensitive identifiers. RatingScope does not infer a nerve, side, severity, atrophy, or complete-paralysis finding.
Informational guidance only. RatingScope does not predict, decide, or guarantee VA outcomes.
38 CFR 4.16 - Total disability ratings for compensation based on unemployability (TDIU)
Official source for TDIU, a separate pathway to 100 percent compensation based on unemployability, independent of the schedular percentage. This hub does not determine TDIU eligibility.
This reflects regulatory and clinical relationships already explained elsewhere on this site. It is not a diagnosis, not a prediction that you have or will develop a connected condition, and not personalized medical or legal advice.
Educational relationship
Radiculopathy Knee / Lower Leg
Knee conditions and radiculopathy are often connected due to altered gait or nerve compression in the lower extremities.