Hip (limited flexion) DC 5252

How VA rates it

The schedule allows 4 rating levels for this code: 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%. VA picks the level whose criteria best match your symptoms and records.

It affects one leg, so each side is rated on its own. When both sides are rated, VA adds the bilateral factor (38 CFR 4.26).

Source: 38 CFR 4.71a on eCFR. Read the full criteria there before you file.

Rating levels and criteria

Criteria text from 38 CFR 4.71a, eCFR as of November 10, 2026. The eCFR is the official source if anything here differs.

Conditions it can lead to

If this condition is service connected, these conditions are often claimed as secondary to it (38 CFR 3.310). Each one still needs its own diagnosis.

• Major depressive disorder DC 9434 Established link

  Living with chronic hip pain is strongly linked with depression and anxiety. VA rates all mental health conditions together under one rating.

  What to gather: A mental health diagnosis and a medical opinion that your pain condition caused it or made it worse.

  Sources: 38 CFR 3.310 (secondary service connection); Bair et al., Depression and pain comorbidity: a literature review (Arch Intern Med, 2003); Prevalence of depression and anxiety among adults with chronic pain: systematic review and meta-analysis (JAMA Netw Open, 2025)

• Lower back (lumbosacral strain / DDD) DC 5237, 5242 Possible link

  Hip problems change posture and stride, which is linked with lower back pain.

  What to gather: A diagnosis of the second joint and a medical opinion explaining how the first condition changed the way you walk or carry weight.

  Sources: 38 CFR 3.310 (secondary service connection); Hip-spine and knee-spine syndrome (Cureus, 2024)

Commonly claimed as secondary to

If one of these is already service connected, you may be able to claim this condition as secondary to it.

• Ankle (limited motion) DC 5271 Possible link

  An unstable ankle changes how your hip moves when you walk, land, and balance.

  What to gather: A diagnosis of the second joint and a medical opinion explaining how the first condition changed the way you walk or carry weight.

  Sources: 38 CFR 3.310 (secondary service connection); Proximal adaptations in chronic ankle instability: systematic review and meta-analysis (Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2020)

• Knee (limited flexion) DC 5260 Possible link

  Favoring a bad knee changes how weight moves through your hips, which can wear on them over time.

  What to gather: A diagnosis of the second joint and a medical opinion explaining how the first condition changed the way you walk or carry weight.

  Sources: 38 CFR 3.310 (secondary service connection); Hip-spine and knee-spine syndrome (Cureus, 2024)

• Plantar fasciitis DC 5269 Possible link

  Heel pain makes you shift weight when you walk, and uneven loading of the feet is linked with later hip pain.

  What to gather: A diagnosis of the second joint and a medical opinion explaining how the first condition changed the way you walk or carry weight.

  Sources: 38 CFR 3.310 (secondary service connection); Asymmetric plantar loading during gait and later knee and hip pain in older adults (Clin Biomech, 2026)

Related medications

Medications that can cause or worsen it

If you take one of these for a service-connected condition, this condition may be claimable as secondary to that condition. You need a diagnosis, your prescription records, and a medical opinion.

• Oral and injected steroids (for example prednisone, prednisolone, methylprednisolone, dexamethasone) Established link

  Steroid labels list bone death (avascular necrosis) of the hip. VA rates it by hip motion, or as a hip replacement if you had one.

  Sources: FDA label: Prednisone (DailyMed)