Preparing for Your VA Foot C&P Exam | What Veterans Need to Know

This episode walks you step by step through the VA foot compensation and pension (C&P) exam. Learn how to translate your foot pain, gait changes, and daily limitations into the specific language the VA uses to determine your disability rating.

Whether you are dealing with flat feet (pes planus), high arches (pes cavus), bunions, hallux rigidus, plantar pain, or nerve conditions like Morton’s neuroma, preparation matters. This episode helps you document your worst-day limitations clearly and accurately — without guesswork.

What We Cover:

• Understanding the exam – How the Foot Conditions DBQ drives the structure of the C&P exam and why it is designed to capture functional loss
• Foot anatomy basics – How arches, toes, joints, nerves, and gait mechanics connect to pain, balance issues, and endurance limits
• Common VA-rated foot conditions:
  Flat feet (pes planus)
  High arches (pes cavus)
  Claw toes and hammer toes
  Bunions and hallux rigidus
  Morton’s neuroma and nerve pain
• Building strong evidence – Why imaging, podiatry notes, surgery records, and medication history matter
  How consistency across visits strengthens your claim
• Writing a strong Statement in Support of Claim – How to describe flare-ups, frequency, duration, and trigger Connecting pain to real-world functional loss like standing, walking, driving, and work tasks
• The physical exam – Pain on manipulation, pain during weight-bearing and gait, calluses as objective evidence
  Why bringing orthotics, braces, or a cane documents medical necessity
• Avoiding common pitfalls – The “relieved with inserts” word trap, Using honest context if symptoms happen to be better on exam day. Verbalizing pain when it happens — not after the movement is finished

Resources Mentioned: VA Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim)

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