Chronic Pain....

[sawgunner]

If I have Chronic pain in my back, hip and neck and it is determined to be realted to my SC conditions...... DDD and problems with my left hip...

How will the pain be rated?

I understand that to file on pain I need a letter connecting it to my other conditions and so forth.... But would you get a single rating for pain, or would pain in each area of your body be rated in a seperate way?

[yoggie2]

If I have Chronic pain in my back, hip and neck and it is determined to be realted to my SC conditions...... DDD and problems with my left hip...

How will the pain be rated?

I understand that to file on pain I need a letter connecting it to my other conditions and so forth.... But would you get a single rating for pain, or would pain in each area of your body be rated in a seperate way?

If you r service connected it will be in you service records if its not you will have a hard time proving it is and yes problems in different areas of the body is rated by different schedulers of type degrees of pain caused many different criteria, but the claim has to be filed first or your question is pointless unless you know whats wrong with you and it can take up to a year + to prove a claim..goodluck Yog

[sawgunner]

What I am asking is should I and how do I file for the chronic pain I have been in for years with my left hip and lower back for which I have a pending claim?

Is the assumption of pain a part of the rating process, or do I need to go to a pain management specialist?

[71M10]

With musculoskeletal ratings there is no rating for pain persay. Rating is weighted towards range of motion in which painful motion is supposed to be considered. Neurological deficits are rated seperately but again pain is used as one of the indicators of a problem and is not necessarily "rated". The long and short of it is the amount of pain you suffer from does not determine your rating. The limitation/s that you face from your disablility do. If you are on pain meds that interfere with your ability to work that can be considered under the category of individual unemployability. If a doctor has determined you have chronic depression due to service connected pain that is rateable. If you have pain issues I highly suggest meeting with a pain management specialist, however, they are not going to provide a "rating for pain".

As always, if someone with more knowledge notices a glaling error in this advice please chime in/correct. I hope this helps.

Best regards,

Tyler

Edited May 19, 2009 by 71M10

[john999]

You can get rated for chronic pain disorder. It is considered a physical and psychological condition. You should have a shrink diagnosis it and related it to your sc physical conditions. I am rated for chronic pain disorder but it is just part of my psychiatric disability that includes depression, anxiety etc. Most people who have chronic pain disorder have depression and anxiety. It goes along with loss of control. It can be associated with phobias and other problems as well.

[MrPain7]

Sawgunner: Pain in and of itself is not compensable,and is rated only as it is manifested in physical findings. If you are being treated for

neck,back and other areas of your body due to pain file for service connection secondary to you service connected hip condition file for

back,neck,shoulder ect. for service connection due to pain. Just filing for SC pain disorder is worthless.

[allan]

Spurgeon v. Brown, No. 95-956 (U.S. Vet. App. Apr. 15, 1997) (Under 38 C.F.R. § 4.40, the Board is required to consider the impact of pain in making its rating determination. The Board is required to provide a statement of its reasons and bases with respect to that aspect of the determination as well. Although section 4.40 does not require a separate rating for pain, it does promulgate guidance for determining ratings under other diagnostic codes assessing musculoskeletal function. See generally 38 C.F.R. § 4.71(a). The fact that a specific rating for pain is not required by section 4.40 does not relieve the Board from its obligation to provide a statement of reasons or bases pertaining to that regulation.)

Spurgeon v. Brown, No. 95-956 (U.S. Vet. App. Apr. 15, 1997) (During an April 1993 VA orthopedic examination, the physician evaluated the appellant's service-connected wrist with respect to his complaints of pain and expressly stated that he could find no etiological basis for the pain, and further opined that there was "probably a strong psychosocial overlay" to the problem of pain. The appellant argues on appeal that, if the pain were psychosocial, the physician should have referred him to a psychiatrist and the VA regional office (RO) should have followed up on this recommendation. Although the appellant did undergo a complete VA psychiatric examination in March 1993 and was eventually granted service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there was no consideration given to whether his painful wrist could be attributed to his psychiatric problems, even though a veteran may be awarded a disability for somatoform disorders (psychogenic symptoms resembling those of physical disease). In its July 1995 decision denying an increased rating above 10% for service-connected post-operative residuals of an osteoma removal, the Board failed to discuss the appellant's pain, mention 38 C.F.R. § 4.40, or discuss the possible link between the appellant's complaints and his service-connected psychiatric condition. Where the Board has failed to provide adequate "reasons and bases" with respect to the role, if any, that pain played in its determination, the Court states that a remand is required.)