A Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) is the VA's standardized form for documenting a medical condition. It is what VA raters use to rate your claim, so it needs to be filled out properly and thoroughly.
Start My Free Readiness CheckStill have questions? Request a call from Dr. Clinton
Sometimes it's helpful just to have your range of motion properly documented, so you know where you stand going in. It gives you a standard to go from, and we can compare it to what was documented before.
Some exams go through the motions: a goniometer is held up but the measurement isn't actually taken, and the result is written as normal. VA rules require joint exams to test active and passive motion, weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing (38 CFR § 4.59; Correia v. McDonald, 2016). We measure it and write it down.
If you've had a couple of different exams and didn't feel good about the last one, it helps to have one done by an examiner you know is competent and thorough.
A properly documented DBQ shows whether your condition is the same as before or has changed, and whether a past decision was based on an incomplete exam.
Many claims stall because a condition was never properly diagnosed. A DBQ documents a current diagnosis and the findings that support it.
When the DBQ is filled out properly and thoroughly, the case has no holes, and there is a good Nexus Letter, VA often decides without sending you to another C&P exam. VA may accept a private physician's report for rating without further examination when it is adequate (38 CFR § 3.326(c)). If you are sent for an exam, the examiner will often have yours in the file to look at.
Once we establish where your condition is now, a Nexus Letter can look back and explain how it is at least as likely as not related to, or secondary to, something in service. It makes for a much sounder argument.
When you're attaching a new secondary condition, submit a DBQ with the Nexus Letter. The rater sees plainly that there is a diagnosis on the DBQ, and sees the reasoning for why it's secondary in the Nexus Letter. The argument shows up in both places, which ties things together more securely when your claim goes to the rater or you go in for your exam.
Dr. Clinton has performed or participated in more than 30,000 disability examinations, DBQs, and disability-related assessments.
We never exaggerate symptoms. We document them accurately and thoroughly — that is what makes a DBQ credible to a rater.
For joint and spine conditions, range of motion is measured in degrees and compared to the VA's normal values below. Knowing your numbers tells you where you stand.
| Forward flexion | 0–90° |
| Extension | 0–30° |
| Lateral flexion (each side) | 0–30° |
| Rotation (each side) | 0–30° |
| Combined normal | 240° |
| Forward flexion | 0–45° |
| Extension | 0–45° |
| Lateral flexion (each side) | 0–45° |
| Rotation (each side) | 0–80° |
| Combined normal | 340° |
| Flexion | 0–180° |
| Abduction | 0–180° |
| External rotation | 0–90° |
| Internal rotation | 0–90° |
| Elbow flexion | 0–145° |
| Forearm pronation | 0–80° |
| Forearm supination | 0–85° |
| Dorsiflexion (extension) | 0–70° |
| Palmar flexion | 0–80° |
| Ulnar deviation | 0–45° |
| Radial deviation | 0–20° |
| Flexion | 0–125° |
| Abduction | 0–45° |
| Flexion | 0–140° |
| Extension | 0° |
| Dorsiflexion | 0–20° |
| Plantar flexion | 0–45° |
Normal values are from the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (38 CFR § 4.71 Plates I and II, and § 4.71a Note 2 for the spine). Pain, flare-ups, and repetitive use can also affect a rating, which is why they need to be documented too.
DBQ evaluations are available now for veterans in North Carolina, and we're building a nationwide provider network. Wherever you are, reach out and we'll help you with the right next step.
Start My Free Readiness CheckStill have questions? Request a call from Dr. Clinton
For more information, call (910) 830-1587 or email info@nexusready.net.
NEXUS