A neck nexus letter for your VA claim: cervical spine conditions, from your records

What the clinician looks for in your neck records

For the $500 fee, the clinician reviews your records for a cervical spine diagnosis, what happened to your neck in service, and whether symptoms have carried into the arms or head. Neck injuries in service are often recorded under another name, such as a vehicle accident or a fall, so the review reads the whole file.

• A named cervical diagnosis: cervical strain, degenerative disc disease, a herniated disc, foraminal or spinal stenosis, or arthritis of the neck.
• Imaging reports for the cervical spine, such as X-rays or an MRI, and the dates they were done.
• Range-of-motion findings for bending the head forward and back, tilting, and turning side to side, plus notes on spasm or guarding.
• In-service events that loaded or jolted the neck: vehicle accidents, falls, hard landings, contact training, or long hours under a helmet and heavy gear, as your duty and treatment records describe them.
• Numbness, tingling or weakness in the arms or hands, and any nerve testing, which can point to a separate nerve diagnosis.
• Headache complaints that started with or after the neck problem.

Common service-connection routes for a neck condition

Most neck claims are direct, under 38 CFR 3.303: an injury or repeated strain in service that your records document, and a cervical diagnosis today that a clinician can link to it. A whiplash-type injury in a vehicle accident, for example, may be written up only as the accident; the opinion connects that record to the neck.

The neck is also a frequent starting point for secondary claims under 38 CFR 3.310 once VA has connected it. A clinician may consider whether nerve compression in the cervical spine caused radiculopathy in an arm, or whether a service-connected neck condition is behind recurring headaches, when the records show that pattern.

If the neck problem came on with no service event in your records, the screen says what is missing before you pay.

Is there a DBQ for a neck condition?

Yes. VA's public Neck (Cervical Spine) DBQ covers it. Commander Health completes it for $200 from the records you already have, or for $550 with the nexus letter. The licensed clinician completes and signs it only when your records include recent cervical range-of-motion measurements and the flare-up and nerve findings the form asks about.

Like the back form, the neck DBQ asks about radiating nerve symptoms, here in the arms. VA may still schedule its own exam, and VA decides the rating.

What it is not

• Physical conditions only: Commander Health does not write PTSD or other mental health opinions, or secondary opinions that run through a mental health condition.
• Not an exam or an appointment. There are no calls or video visits; the clinician works from your records, and any follow-up comes by email.
• Not a filing service. Commander Health does not file claims and is not a VSO, a law firm, or a VA-accredited representative. Free help filing a claim is available from a VA-accredited Veterans Service Organization.
• Not a guarantee. Clinical review never guarantees an outcome. A clinician signs only if your records support the opinion, and VA decides the claim.

Frequently asked questions

My arms go numb. Is that part of my neck claim?

Arm numbness from the cervical spine is usually a separate nerve diagnosis, cervical radiculopathy, claimed secondary to the neck and rated on its own. Include any nerve testing with your records.

Can headaches be connected to a neck condition?

A clinician may consider headaches secondary to a service-connected neck condition when the records show the headaches tied to the neck. Commander Health has a separate migraine page covering that opinion.

I was in a vehicle accident in service but barely treated. Is that enough?

The accident report and any treatment note place the event in service. The clinician then looks for neck complaints afterward and a current diagnosis. If the records leave too big a gap, the clinician declines and you get your money back.