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Psychiatric Disabilities (6)

Musculoskeletal (6)

Neurological Disorders (5)

Autoimmune Diseases (12)

Total Disability Individual Unemployability (1)

Toxic Exposures (6)

Psychiatric Disabilities

PTSD

A disorder that develops when a person has experienced or witnessed a scary, shocking, terrifying, or dangerous event. These stressful or traumatic events usually involve a situation where someone's life has been threatened or severe injury has occurred.

PTSD

PTSD due to MST

Military Sexual Trauma (MST) to refer to sexual assault or threatening sexual harassment experienced during military service. MST includes any sexual activity during military service in which you are involved against your will or when unable to say no.

PTSD due to MST

Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. It might cause you to sweat, feel restless and tense, and have a rapid heartbeat.

Anxiety Disorder

Depressive Disorder

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems.

Depressive Disorder

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that causes unusual shifts in mood, ranging from extreme highs (mania or “manic” episodes) to lows (depression or “depressive” episode). A person who has bipolar disorder also experiences changes in their energy, thinking, behavior, and sleep.

Bipolar Disorder

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impairs daily functioning, and can be disabling. People with schizophrenia require lifelong treatment.

Schizophrenia

Musculoskeletal

Lumbar Spine

The lumbar spine comprises the lower end of the spinal column between the last thoracic vertebra (T12) and the first sacral vertebra (S1). The spinal cord in this region has protection from five durable and mobile vertebrae (L1-L5) that allow for the dispersion of axial forces.

Lumbar Spine

Cervical Spine

Your cervical spine is the neck region of your spinal column or backbone. It consists of your first seven bones (C1-C7).

Cervical Spine

Lower Extremity Radiculopathy

Lumbar radiculopathy is an inflammation of a nerve root in the lower back, which causes symptoms of pain or irritation in the back and down the legs.

Lower Extremity Radiculopathy

Upper Extremity Radiculopathy

Commonly referred to as a pinched nerve, radiculopathy is injury or damage to nerve roots in the area where they leave the spine. This condition can affect anyone and can be the result disc degeneration, disc herniation or other trauma.

Neuropathy

Neuropathy is when nerve damage leads to pain, weakness, numbness or tingling in one or more parts of your body.

Sciatic Nerve

The sciatic nerve is located in the back of the leg. It supplies the muscles of the back of the knee and lower leg. The sciatic nerve also provides sensation to the back of the thigh, part of the lower leg, and the sole of the foot.

Neurological Disorders

Multiple Sclerosis

A disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the protective covering of the nerve cells in the brain, optic nerve and spinal cord, called the myelin sheath.

Parkinson's Disease

A neurodegenerative disorder that affects predominately the dopamine-producing (“dopaminergic”) neurons in a specific area of the brain called substantia nigra.

TBI

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be caused by a forceful bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body, or from an object that pierces the skull and enters the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI.

Migraines

Migraine is a type of headache characterized by recurrent attacks of moderate to severe throbbing and pulsating pain on one side of the head. The pain is caused by the activation of nerve fibers within the wall of brain blood vessels traveling inside the meninges (three layers of membranes protecting the brain and spinal cord).

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a chronic disease of the brain that affects people of all ages, in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures.

Autoimmune Diseases

Lupus

Lupus is a disease that occurs when your body's immune system attacks your own tissues and organs (autoimmune disease). Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems — including your joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis is where the body's immune system attacks its own tissue, typically in the hands and feet. In some people, the condition can damage body systems including the skin, eyes, lung, heart and blood vessels. It affects joint linings, causing painful swelling. This may lead to bone erosion and joint deformity. Fatigue, fever and loss of appetite also can be symptoms.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk and scalp.

Chron's Disease

Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It causes swelling of the tissues (inflammation) in your digestive tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition.

Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disease, causing sudden hair loss on the scalp, face, and sometimes other areas of the body.

Vasculitis

Vasculitis involves inflammation of the blood vessels. The inflammation can cause the walls of the blood vessels to thicken, which reduces the width of the passageway through the vessel.

Myasthenia Gravis

A weakness and rapid fatigue of muscles under voluntary control. The condition is caused by a breakdown in communication between nerves and muscles. Symptoms include weakness in the arm and leg muscles, double vision, and difficulties with speech and chewing.

Dermatomyositis

Dermatomyositis is a rare disease that causes muscle weakness and skin rash. Symptoms include a red or purple rash on sun exposed skin and eyelids, calcium deposits under the skin, muscle weakness, and trouble talking or swallowing.

Graves' Disease

Graves disease is an autoimmune disorder that involves overactivity of the thyroid (hyperthyroidism). Hallmarks of the condition are bulging eyes (exophthalmos), heat intolerance, increased energy, difficulty sleeping, diarrhea and anxiety.

Addison Disease

Addison's disease, also called adrenal insufficiency, is an uncommon illness that occurs when the body doesn't make enough of certain hormones. In Addison's disease, the adrenal glands make too little cortisol and, often, too little of another hormone, aldosterone.

Hashimoto Thyroiditis

Hashimoto's disease is an autoimmune disorder affecting the thyroid gland. The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of the neck just below the Adam's apple. The thyroid produces hormones that help regulate many functions in the body.

Pernicious Anemia

Pernicious anemia, one of the causes of vitamin B12 deficiency, is an autoimmune condition that prevents your body from absorbing vitamin B12.

Total Disability Individual Unemployability

TDIU

Veterans have a drive to work, but there are those who can’t! It’s not their fault. They have injuries seen and unseen that prevent them from having a gainful employment to take of themselves and their families. The VA recognizes this and if you can’t work because of a disability or disabilities related to your military service. The VA has a program for that! The program is called Total Disability-Individual Unemployability or known commonly as TDIU.

Toxic Exposures

Agent Orange

Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the tactical use Rainbow Herbicides.

Gulf War Illness

A prominent condition affecting Gulf War Veterans is a cluster of medically unexplained chronic symptoms that can include fatigue, headaches, joint pain, indigestion, insomnia, dizziness, respiratory disorders, and memory problems.

Burn Pits

The Department of Defense defines an open burn pit as an area of land used for the open-air combustion of trash and other solid waste products. Waste products commonly disposed of in open burn pits include chemicals, paint, medical and human waste, metal/aluminum cans, munitions, unexploded ordnance, petroleum and lubricant products, plastics, rubber, wood, and food waste.

Ionizing Radiation Exposure

Ionizing radiation exposure comes from a variety of sources, including nuclear weapons testing or other activities during military service.

Camp Lejeune Water Contamination

The Camp Lejeune water contamination problem occurred at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, from 1953 to 1987.

Asbestos Exposure

Asbestosis is a chronic lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. Prolonged exposure to these fibers can cause lung tissue scarring and shortness of breath.

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