Veterans with Broken Bones May Also Get VA Disability for Compartment Syndrome (2024)

Compartment syndrome is a complication that occurs when pressure in a group of muscles or organs, called a compartment, builds up and causes pain. While this can occur within any compartment in the body, it is most common in the legs, arms, and abdomen.

Compartment syndrome often occurs after a severe injury that causes swelling. The pressurewithin the compartment builds because of the edema, restricting blood flow to a muscle group. If not dealt with immediately, it can lead to permanent damage. Compartment syndrome usually requires surgery to relieve the pressure.

You can see where veterans would be at risk of compartment syndrome if they suffer an injury and can’t get medical attention to it right away. As you wait for a medic or even surgery, the pressure and swelling can cause permanent damage to your tissues beyond your initial injury.

Can I Get Disability for Compartment Syndrome?

Because the causes of this condition vary, the compartment syndrome VA disability rating can also varyquite a bit,and proving a service connection can be more challenging. But compartment syndrome can qualify you for disability benefits, as long as there is a corresponding injury or cause that you can point to that occurred during your term of service. If you experience additional complications from compartment syndrome that are left untreated, such as muscle atrophy, or if you undergo a fasciotomy, those can qualify you for additional benefits.

Woods and Woods has helped thousands of veterans get the maximum disability that they are eligible for by facilitating the forms and hundreds of pieces of paperwork that make the best VA claim. We spend every day connecting the dots for the VA between your symptoms and any injuries that were incurred during your service. So if you’re wondering, how does the VA rate muscle atrophy? Or what is the VA rating for fasciotomy as a result of compartment syndrome? Let’s get your questions answered

Complications of Compartment Syndrome

Compartment syndrome can cause severe pain that limits your ability to carry out regular day-to-day activities such as running, walking, extending your arms or legs, exercising, or working. If you are experiencing severe pain and have a job that requires any kind of physical elements, compartment syndrome may make you miss days or even not be able to keep a job.

In severe cases, compartment syndrome can lead to permanent complications such as muscle atrophy or loss of bodily functions. Often, surgery is required to alleviate pressure, which can result in long recovery times, preventing a veteran’s ability to carry out their normal duties.

Causes of Compartment Syndrome

Acute compartment syndrome, the most common type of this condition, is almost always caused by a broken bone or another severe injury. It can develop veryrapidly, over just a few hours or, at most, a few days. While a broken arm or leg is frequently the underlying cause of compartment syndrome, there are many other potential causes, including:

• Overly tight bandages or casts
• Injuries from being involved in a crash
• Crushed limbs
• Burns
• Prolonged compression of a limb
• Surgery on blood vessels
• A blood clot
• Vigorous exercise that puts pressure on limbs that are extended
• Anabolic steroids
• Trauma
• Bone fractures
• Sepsis

Additionally, there is another form of compartment syndrome, known as bilateral chronic exertional compartment syndrome. This type of compartment syndrome is typically caused by extendedperiods of heavy exercise or physical exertion. Many veterans are subject to chronic exertional compartment syndrome because of the heavy gearthey are required to carry for long stretches of time. Chronic compartment syndrome, usually develops more slowly, over a few days or weeks, and may go unnoticed for longer.

Symptoms of Compartment Syndrome

The symptoms of acute, chronic, and abdominal compartment syndrome have some similarities but a few key differences.

Symptoms of Acute Compartment Syndrome

• Sudden, persistent pain in the arm, leg, abdomen, or another area of the body, occurring within a few hours of an injury
• A pain that seems disproportionate to the injury incurred
• Numbness, pins and needles, or sharp pain in the limb
• Swelling
• Tightness
• Bruising

Symptoms of Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome

• Aching or cramping in the affected muscle that begins about 30 minutes after the start ofexercise
• Pain that feels like shin splints
• Symptoms that disappear when not actively involved in physical activity and a return to normal muscle function

Symptoms of Abdominal Compartment Syndrome

• A taut, distended abdomen
• Pain when the abdomen is pressed
• Low blood pressure
• Decrease of urine output

The variety of symptoms can make compartment syndrome difficult to catch,but it’s something doctors should be on the lookout for, especially in the wake of any kind of serious injury.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Compartment Syndrome

If a patient exhibits any of the above symptoms after a severe injury or during exercise, a doctor will probably be able to safely diagnose them with compartment syndrome. For a definite diagnosis, however, the doctor will need to measure the pressure within the compartment. Your doctor will insert a needle into that region that allows them to get a clear picture of the pressure buildup.

Lab and imaging tests can also support the diagnosis by ruling out any other causes for the pain and swelling, but the pressure meter is the most effective way to come to a conclusive diagnosis of compartment syndrome and will help your VA disability rating.

Depending on the severity of your condition, there are several treatment options ranging from non-surgical to surgical intervention. Non-surgical, supportive treatments include:

• Physical therapy
• Pain/anti-inflammatory medication
• Insoles or orthotic inserts in your shoes
• Removing restrictive bandages or casts
• Massage
• Ceasing all exercise or physical activity
• Changing how you walk or use your limbs
• Icing
• Resting

If none of the above prove effective at significantly reducing the pressure in the compartment, then you will likely have to undergo a surgery called a fasciotomy. This involves cutting into the fascia, or inflexible tissue,surrounding the compartment where pressure is building to relieve the pressure. Ideally, only a small cut will need to be made, which will reduce recovery time, but in more severe cases, this may not be possible.

While a fasciotomy is the most effective and long-lasting treatment for compartment syndrome, it can come with a significant period of recovery, while your body works to rebuild the fascia. As with any surgery, it can have long-term side effects, such as nerve damage, weakness, infection, bruising, or scarring.

There are many conditions that can cause pain and restrict movement in your legs, arms, back, and abdomen. This is one reason whycompartment syndrome can be difficult to diagnose, especially for those experiencing chronic exertional compartment syndrome where symptoms don’t linger.

Shin splints are a common cramp that runnersmay experience. Compartment syndrome is often misdiagnosed as shin splints, leaving this more serious condition untreated. Shin splintsare not serious and usually go away with some light stretching.

Muscle tears or sprains can also cause symptoms similar to compartment syndrome, such as swelling and pain in a particular area where an injury or accident occurred. The difference between compartment syndrome and a simple sprain is the amount of fluid and pressure that builds up in the area. If the affected area feels hard and is difficult or very painful to move, you may have compartment syndrome.

Bulging or herniated discs can also result in similar forms of pain or symptoms but are very different concerns and require different types oftreatment.

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How to Get a Compartment Syndrome VA Disability Rating

As with any VA disability case, you will need to have proof of diagnosis as well as evidence that shows the condition is related to something that happened during your term of service.

Compartment syndrome falls under a few different categories, depending on what group of muscles are affected. It isgenerally classified as a foot and leg condition, as those are the most commonly affected areas. The VA ratings for foot and leg conditions are based on a number of factors but primarily focus on the extent of loss of range of motion. Typically, since these conditions limit the ability to move, but don’t completely prevent people from carrying out day-to-day activities, you’re looking at a rating of 50% or less.

If you have severe compartment syndrome that leads to permanent damage of a muscle or group of muscles or need to have surgery to alleviate the pressure, you may get a higher disability rating.

When taking your diagnosis of compartment syndrome to the VA, you want to ensure you’re detailing all the complications you’ve experienced from your condition and how it has affected your ability to work and function normally. It is also important to provide documentation of the injury that you experienced or the type of work that you performed during your military service to show how the compartment syndrome is related to your term of service.

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What to Do If Your Claim Is Denied

If your compartment syndrome VA disability claim is denied, you should definitely appeal. During the appeals process, it is highly advisable to hire a lawyer.

Here at Woods and Woods, The Veteran’s Firm, we are adept at parsing through all the noise to draw a clear through-line for the VA about why veterans need coverage for this painful and life-altering condition. Because it has so many different causes, compartment syndromeis also quite common and requires a variety of different treatments.

We will help you navigate the rating chart, to show how your injury directly led to an inability to move and therefore has affected your ability to work and provide for yourself and your family. Woods and Woods will manage all the necessarypaperwork, aid you in getting a proper diagnosis, and submit all the documents to the VA to ensure that you get the absolute highest disability rating you are eligible for.

Woods and Woods will work with you to help you get disability benefits that will allow you to receive proper treatment and supplement your income during a period of non-working. We are happy to offer a free consultation and give you our honest assessment of your case. We only get paid if we win your case, and it is based on a percentage of back payments owed — any future payments are yours to keep in full.

At Woods and Woods, the Veteran’s Firm, we’ve helped thousands of veterans with their VA disability applications and appeals. We’ve been adding staff and lawyers during the Covid pandemic to serve disabled veterans better in difficult times.

Call us today to discuss your VA disability appeal or your first application. The call is free and we won’t charge you a single fee until we win your case. We even pay for the postage for all of the documentation you send to our office. You can look for a VA disability attorney near you or call us and join the thousands of veterans living off of VA disability thanks to Woods and Woods.

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Neil Woods

VA disability lawyer
Woods and Woods

Neil Woods is the firm’s owner and president. He received his law degree from Western Michigan University.

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