The index finger is stiff or locked in place, limiting its ability to move.
Medical records that document the joints affected — the knuckle joint, the middle joint, or both — and how they are fixed help establish the rating level. An orthopedic or physical medicine examination that measures the exact position of the ankylosed joint and tests whether the fingertip can reach within two inches of the proximal palm crease is central to distinguishing unfavorable from favorable ankylosis.
X-rays or imaging can confirm bone position, rotation, or angulation, any of which would push the finding toward unfavorable or toward evaluation as an amputation. If both the knuckle and middle joints are involved, the examiner's finding to that effect is key, because VA rules treat that combination as unfavorable regardless of individual joint positions.
Statements from you or people who see you daily describing how the locked finger affects gripping, writing, carrying objects, or doing your job can support a finding that other digits or overall hand function are also affected, which the regulation says must be separately considered.
Conditions that are often caused or made worse by this one. If you have any of these, they may be claimable as secondary service connection.
