38 CFR Part 4 — 38 CFR § 4.71a
Muscle Group X — VA Diagnostic Code 5310
Musculoskeletal
Diagnostic code
5310
38 CFR § 4.73 lists Diagnostic Code 5310 in the table captioned “The Foot and Leg.” The title cell is “5310 Group X. Function: Movements of forefoot and toes; propulsion thrust in walking. Intrinsic muscles of the foot: Plantar: (1) Flexor digitorum brevis; (2) abductor hallucis; (3) abductor digiti minimi; (4) quadratus plantae; (5) lumbricales; (6) flexor hallucis brevis; (7) adductor hallucis; (8) flexor digiti minimi brevis; (9) dorsal and plantar interossei. Other important plantar structures: Plantar aponeurosis, long plantar and calcaneonavicular ligament, tendons of posterior tibial, peroneus longus, and long flexors of great and little toes”. The rating cell on that title is empty. The column header is “Rating.” It is not split into dominant and nondominant. Plantar severe is 30, moderately severe is 20, moderate is 10, and slight is 0. A separate row then reads “Dorsal: (1) Extensor hallucis brevis; (2) extensor digitorum brevis. Other important dorsal structures: cruciate, crural, deltoid, and other ligaments; tendons of long extensors of toes and peronei muscles”. Its rating cell is empty. Dorsal severe is 20, moderately severe is 10, moderate is 10, and slight is 0. A note follows. Appendix B indexes “Group X Function: Movement of forefoot and toes.” The schedule says “Movements,” plural, and also names propulsion thrust in walking. The catalog row cites § 4.71a. The 2026-10-01 text places this code in § 4.73.
Reviewed 2026-10-05. Text checked against the eCFR versioner full-text XML for 2026-10-01 on 2026-10-05. Title 38 was up to date as of 2026-10-01 and last amended on 2026-08-27. The § 4.73 source note prints 62 FR 30239, June 3, 1997, as amemded 85 FR 76464, Nov. 30, 2020. The word “amemded” is the spelling in that source note. The § 4.56 source note prints 62 FR 30238, June 3, 1997. The § 4.56 authority line prints “(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1155” and does not print the closing parenthesis. The § 4.55 source note prints 62 FR 30237, June 3, 1997.
The rating criteria at each level
5310 Group X, plantar — The Foot and Leg
Rating %: 30
Criteria (verbatim). Severe
Rating %: 20
Criteria (verbatim). Moderately Severe
Rating %: 10
Criteria (verbatim). Moderate
Rating %: 0
Criteria (verbatim). Slight
| Rating % | Criteria (verbatim) |
|---|---|
| 30 | Severe |
| 20 | Moderately Severe |
| 10 | Moderate |
| 0 | Slight |
5310 Group X, dorsal
Rating %: 20
Criteria (verbatim). Severe
Rating %: 10
Criteria (verbatim). Moderately Severe
Rating %: 10
Criteria (verbatim). Moderate
Rating %: 0
Criteria (verbatim). Slight
| Rating % | Criteria (verbatim) |
|---|---|
| 20 | Severe |
| 10 | Moderately Severe |
| 10 | Moderate |
| 0 | Slight |
Note (2) of § 4.73: Ratings of slight, moderate, moderately severe, or severe for diagnostic codes 5301 through 5323 will be determined based upon the criteria contained in § 4.56.
Section 4.56(c) says: “For VA rating purposes, the cardinal signs and symptoms of muscle disability are loss of power, weakness, lowered threshold of fatigue, fatigue-pain, impairment of coordination and uncertainty of movement.” There is no comma before “and uncertainty.”
Section 4.56(d) says: “Under diagnostic codes 5301 through 5323, disabilities resulting from muscle injuries shall be classified as slight, moderate, moderately severe or severe as follows:” There is no comma before “or severe.”
Section 4.56(b) says a through-and-through injury with muscle damage shall be evaluated as no less than a moderate injury for each group of muscles damaged. Paragraph (b) hyphenates “through-and-through.” Paragraph (d)(2) says “Through and through” without those hyphens.
Section 4.56(a) says an open comminuted fracture with muscle or tendon damage will be rated as a severe injury of the muscle group involved unless, for locations such as in the wrist or over the tibia, evidence establishes that the muscle damage is minimal.
The note under the dorsal rows reads: “Minimum rating for through-and-through wounds of the foot—10.” It uses an em dash before 10 and ends with a period. It does not say “moderate.”
Plantar item (9) is “dorsal and plantar interossei.” The word dorsal in that item is still inside the plantar list. The separate dorsal row begins with “Dorsal:”.
The dorsal structures sentence spells “peronei muscles.” The plantar structures sentence spells “peroneus longus.”
38 CFR § 4.55(b) says 3 muscle groups for the foot and leg are diagnostic codes 5310 through 5312. Paragraph (a) says a muscle injury rating will not be combined with a peripheral nerve paralysis rating of the same body part, unless the injuries affect entirely different functions. Paragraph (e) says that for compensable muscle group injuries which are in the same anatomical region but do not act on the same joint, the evaluation for the most severely injured muscle group will be increased by one level and used as the combined evaluation for the affected muscle groups. Paragraph (f) says that for muscle group injuries in different anatomical regions which do not act upon ankylosed joints, each muscle group injury shall be separately rated and the ratings combined under § 4.25. 38 CFR § 4.7 assigns the higher rating when the disability picture more nearly approximates the criteria required for that rating. Otherwise, the lower rating will be assigned. 38 CFR § 4.6 requires each element affecting the evidence to be studied so that decisions will be equitable and just.
Note (1) of § 4.73 names loss of use of any extremity or loss of use of both buttocks and points to § 3.350, with diagnostic code 5317, Muscle Group XVII, in parentheses. The note does not name DC 5310. This page does not state a payment amount. DC 5311 is Group XI, propulsion of the foot. DC 5312 is Group XII, dorsiflexion. The loss-of-use note on DC 5283 and DC 5284, “With actual loss of use of the foot, rate 40 percent,” is not printed on DC 5310.
The 2026-10-01 text of 38 CFR § 3.309 does not name Muscle Group X. DC 5310 prints a 0 percent line for Slight on both the plantar rows and the dorsal rows. 38 CFR § 4.14 says the evaluation of the same disability under various diagnoses is to be avoided, and that the evaluation of the same manifestation under different diagnoses is to be avoided.
Source: 38 CFR § 4.73, Diagnostic Code 5310, and 38 CFR § 4.56, eCFR full-text XML for 2026-10-01.
What the words mean in your records
Plantar and dorsal are different numbers
Plantar severe is 30 and moderately severe is 20. Dorsal severe is 20 and moderately severe is 10. Moderate is 10 on both. Slight is 0 on both.
The foot note is 10
“Minimum rating for through-and-through wounds of the foot—10.” Section 4.56(b) says a through-and-through injury with muscle damage is no less than moderate. The Group X note prints 10. It does not print the word moderate.
Appendix B shortens the function
Appendix B says “Movement of forefoot and toes,” singular. The § 4.73 cell says “Movements of forefoot and toes; propulsion thrust in walking,” and then names the plantar and dorsal structures.
Evidence that speaks to each level
Plantar 30, 20, 10, or 0
What the rater needs to see. The § 4.56 classification for the plantar muscles and structures named in the title cell.
Where that usually lives. The muscle examination and the service-treatment description of the wound, when the record has one.
Dorsal 20, 10, 10, or 0
What the rater needs to see. The § 4.56 classification for the dorsal muscles and structures. Severe on this row is 20, not the plantar 30.
Where that usually lives. The same examination, read against the dorsal rows.
Through-and-through, minimum 10
What the rater needs to see. The note under Group X: a through-and-through wound of the foot, minimum 10.
Where that usually lives. The wound description, if it is a through-and-through wound of the foot.
VA’s public DBQ list, checked October 5, 2026, names “Muscle Injuries” under Musculoskeletal. The file is Muscle Injuries.
The exam form
DC 5310 prints two scales and the foot note. Section 4.56 is the classification for slight, moderate, moderately severe, and severe. This page does not say the muscle form replaces either text.
Related codes and how they interact
Groups XI and XII are the other foot-and-leg codes.
Section 4.55(b) places diagnostic codes 5310 through 5312 in the foot and leg. DC 5311 is propulsion and plantar flexion. DC 5312 is dorsiflexion.
Secondary conditions and presumptions
Section 3.309 does not name Muscle Group X. This page does not add DC 5310 to a presumptive row.
A separate question, when a presumption does not decide it, is a medical question on the facts under 38 CFR § 3.310. Paragraph (a) covers disability proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. Paragraph (b) covers increase in severity and requires a medical baseline.
Short answers
How does VA rate Muscle Group X under DC 5310?
Under 38 CFR § 4.73, Group X has a plantar scale of 30, 20, 10, and 0 and a dorsal scale of 20, 10, 10, and 0. Note (2) points slight, moderate, moderately severe, and severe, for diagnostic codes 5301 through 5323, to § 4.56. A note under Group X sets a minimum of 10 for a through-and-through wound of the foot. Education only. VA decides on the evidence.
What does the plantar list include?
Nine named intrinsic muscles, ending with dorsal and plantar interossei, plus the plantar aponeurosis, the long plantar and calcaneonavicular ligament, and tendons of the posterior tibial, peroneus longus, and the long flexors of the great and little toes.
FAQ
What percentages does DC 5310 print?
Plantar: severe 30, moderately severe 20, moderate 10, slight 0. Dorsal: severe 20, moderately severe 10, moderate 10, slight 0. The note sets a minimum of 10 for a through-and-through wound of the foot. Education only.
Does Group X have a dominant rating?
The Foot and Leg table has one Rating column. The shoulder-girdle tables earlier in § 4.73 use Dominant and Nondominant. Group X does not.
Where is this code printed?
The 2026-10-01 muscle-injury schedule is § 4.73. The catalog row cites § 4.71a. Appendix B shortens the function to “Movement of forefoot and toes.”
Next steps
- Read the decision for DC 5310 and whether it used the plantar rows or the dorsal rows, and which of the four words it used.
- The free worksheet is a place to write the code, the findings, and the records you already have. It does not file a claim or protect a filing date. An accredited representative is at find a VSO.
- Other musculoskeletal codes are on the musculoskeletal diagnostic-code index. The category page is musculoskeletal conditions.
Education only. Not legal or medical advice. My Claim Packet is not a VA-accredited representative and does not file claims. VA decides every claim on its own evidence.
Other codes in this body system
Nearby catalog entries in Musculoskeletal, ordered by diagnostic code number. All Musculoskeletal codes
- DC 5302Group II Function: Depression of arm
- DC 5303Group III Function: Elevation and abduction of arm
- DC 5304Group IV Function: Stabilization of shoulder
- DC 5305Group V Function: Elbow supination
- DC 5306Group VI Function: Extension of elbow
- DC 5307Group VII Function: Flexion of wrist and fingers
- DC 5308Group VIII Function: Extension of wrist, fingers, thumb
- DC 5309Group IX Function: Forearm muscles
- DC 5311Group XI Function: Propulsion of foot
- DC 5312Group XII Function: Dorsiflexion
- DC 5313Group XIII Function: Extension of hip and flexion of knee
- DC 5314Group XIV Function: Extension of knee
- DC 5315Group XV Function: Adduction of hip
- DC 5316Group XVI Function: Flexion of hip
- DC 5317Group XVII Function: Extension of hip
- DC 5318Group XVIII Function: Outward rotation of thigh
Also: DC code lookup (tools) lists the same index in a compact layout.
Source: 38 CFR Part 4, Diagnostic Code 5310 • va.gov
⚠️ Important Disclaimer
This page provides general educational information based on public VA regulations and VA.gov resources. It is not legal or medical advice, and My Claim Packet is not a VA-accredited representative. Any worksheets or draft documents produced by the tools must be reviewed for accuracy and are not filed with VA for you. Ratings and service connection are decided case-by-case from the individual record. Consult a VA-accredited VSO, claims agent, attorney, or qualified clinician for help with your situation, and verify current rules using the linked official source.