Inflammation affecting two or more joints, excluding post-traumatic and gout-related arthritis.
Medical records that document the active nature of your arthritis across two or more joints are central to this rating. Lab results showing elevated inflammatory markers, imaging showing active joint damage, and physician notes describing constitutional symptoms such as fatigue, fever, or malaise can help support higher ratings. Records showing weight loss and anemia with objective measurements, such as blood counts and body weight trends, are relevant to the 60% level.
For ratings tied to exacerbations, records that count and describe each flare are important. Emergency or urgent-care visits, hospitalizations, and treatment notes during flares can help establish how often and how severely exacerbations occur. Notes describing whether exacerbations were incapacitating, and for how long, are especially useful at the 40% and 60% levels.
Statements from you or people who know you describing how active flares affect your ability to work, move, and carry out daily activities can support the overall picture. Objective physical examination findings recorded by a provider, such as swollen or tender joints and reduced function during an active period, are also relevant at every level.
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.
