What the Board granted and denied for arthritis

In the Board decisions we have indexed since 2019, veterans raised 66,758 issues about arthritis. Of the ones it decided, the Board granted 38 percent. It sent 45 percent of all these issues back for more work.

Every decision counted here is an appeal. The regional office decided the claim first, the veteran disagreed, and the Board is the next step after that. These are not the odds on a first claim.

Since 2019

1,046 were reopened for a fresh look, which is not a grant and is not counted as one. 3,492 were dismissed or withdrawn. 275 ended some other way, or we could not read the outcome.

Across every year we have indexed, that is 198,804 issues across 131,347 decisions, 31 percent granted of the ones decided, and 44 percent sent back for more work.

What a remand is

A remand is not a yes or a no. The Board sends the claim back to the regional office for more work, such as a new exam or a record that was not in the file. The claim is decided again later, and that later decision is a separate document.

What showed up in the decisions

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

These are mentions in the written decision, not reasons for the outcome. A denied issue can mention a doctor's opinion just as a granted one does. Whether the opinion was for or against the claim, and the reasons it gave, are not something these counts can see. Each item is counted for the whole decision, so it may concern another issue decided in the same document.

Claimed together

A pair gets its own page once it appears at least 100 times and the Board decided at least 20 of them. Pairs below that are in the data but have no page.

Claimed as secondary to arthritis

• Lower back conditions secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 258 issues paired, 59 percent granted of the ones decided

• Hip conditions secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 287 issues paired, 46 percent granted of the ones decided

• Knee conditions secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 245 issues paired, 39 percent granted of the ones decided

• Radiculopathy or neuropathy secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 298 issues paired, 79 percent granted of the ones decided

• Neck conditions secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 140 issues paired, 28 percent granted of the ones decided

• Shoulder conditions secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 119 issues paired, 33 percent granted of the ones decided

• Depression or anxiety secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 102 issues paired, 78 percent granted of the ones decided

• Foot conditions secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 121 issues paired, 34 percent granted of the ones decided

• Ankle conditions secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 73 issues paired, 33 percent granted of the ones decided

• Wrist and hand conditions secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 64 issues paired, 18 percent granted of the ones decided

• Migraines secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 51 issues paired, 75 percent granted of the ones decided

• Sleep apnea secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 79 issues paired, 63 percent granted of the ones decided

• High blood pressure secondary to arthritis

  Since 2019: 33 issues paired, 71 percent granted of the ones decided

Arthritis claimed as secondary to something else

• Arthritis secondary to knee conditions

  Since 2019: 570 issues paired, 51 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to foot conditions

  Since 2019: 290 issues paired, 63 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to lower back conditions

  Since 2019: 316 issues paired, 43 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to ankle conditions

  Since 2019: 140 issues paired, 52 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to wrist and hand conditions

  Since 2019: 60 issues paired, 32 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to shoulder conditions

  Since 2019: 34 issues paired, 40 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to hip conditions

  Since 2019: 61 issues paired, 56 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to diabetes

  Since 2019: 39 issues paired, 11 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to skin conditions

  Since 2019: 52 issues paired, 41 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to PTSD

  Since 2019: 62 issues paired, 46 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to neck conditions

  Since 2019: 38 issues paired, 55 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to scars

  Since 2019: 24 issues paired, 47 percent granted of the ones decided

• Arthritis secondary to cold injury

  Since 2019: 9 issues paired, 0 percent granted of the ones decided

Five recent decisions about arthritis

• June 30, 2026Denied

  Service connection for osteoarthritis of the left hip, to include as secondary to the claimed lumbosacral strain and DDD with foraminal stenosis

  Read the decision at VA.gov
• June 29, 2026Granted

  Entitlement to service connection for thoracolumbar spine degenerative arthritis

  Read the decision at VA.gov
• June 29, 2026Granted

  A 40 percent rating for left knee degenerative arthritis from August 20, 2012, to February 19, 2013

  Read the decision at VA.gov
• June 29, 2026Denied

  A rating in excess of 10 percent for osteoarthritis of the left knee with chondromalacia patella

  Read the decision at VA.gov
• June 29, 2026Denied

  A rating in excess of 20 percent prior to September 27, 2023, and in excess of 40 percent on and after September 27, 2023, for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis

  Read the decision at VA.gov

What this means for you

Three things carry a joint claim. Range of motion, measured in degrees. Functional loss, which is the rating rules' term for pain on use, weakness, tiring out, and the movements you cannot make. And a clear line from the injury in service to the joint that is painful now.

The exam carries a lot of weight. The rating rules say the exam has to show the functional loss, not just the degrees, and they count a joint that becomes painful on use as seriously disabled. Say what a bad day looks like, in plain words, and say it at the exam.

For a first claim, the link matters more than the pain. Service records that show the injury, the sick call visit, or a profile (the form that limited your duty) do the heavy lifting. A doctor's opinion that ties today's diagnosis to that event is what the Board reads for.

For a higher rating, the Board reads the numbers. Bring the degrees, the instability findings, and the words the rating rules use, like painful motion and functional loss. A statement from someone who watches you limp or stop mid-task fills in what the exam room misses.