Plantar Fasciitis: Potential Secondary Conditions
Many veterans with Plantar Fasciitis, especially those who were diagnosed long after leaving the military, might still be eligible if medical evidence shows your heel pain is proximately due to or aggravated by another service-connected disability such as knee strain, hip conditions, and/or back conditions.
Service connection on a secondary basis requires the subsequent disability to be “proximately due to” or “proximately aggravated by” another service-connected disability. The veteran must show:
A medical diagnosis of Plantar Fasciitis (Heel Pain) in VA medical records or private records (unless you already have a diagnosis in your service treatment records)
The first part can be satisfied with any existing medical evidence in service treatment records, VA medical records, or any private medical records.
Evidence of a service-connected primary disability (such as Knee Strain, Lumbar Strain or Back Pain, Hip Condition), AND
The second part can be satisfied with a veteran’s existing service-connected disability rated at 0 percent or higher.
Medical nexus evidence establishing a connection between the service-connected disability and the current disability (in this example, Plantar Fasciitis)
The third part can be satisfied with a credible **medical nexus letter from a qualified medical professional.**
For example, here is a 2008 BVA case decision where a Veteran received entitlement to service connection for a **bilateral foot disorder as secondary to a service-connected left knee disability.**