Citation Nr: 21032414 Decision Date: 05/27/21 Archive Date: 05/27/21 DOCKET NO. 14-28 746 DATE: May 27, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for right and left shoulder disability is denied. Entitlement to service connection for low back disability is denied. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral knee degenerative joint disease is denied. FINDING OF FACT The most probative evidence shows the Veteran's disabilities of the shoulders, lumbar spine and knees are unrelated to military service CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for right and left shoulder disability have not been met. 38U.S.C. §§1110, 1131, 5107; 38C.F.R. §§3.102, 3.303. 2. The criteria for service connection for low back disability have not been met. 38U.S.C. §§1110, 1131, 5107; 38C.F.R. §§3.102, 3.303. 3. The criteria for service connection for bilateral knee degenerative joint disease have not been met. 38U.S.C. §§1110, 1131, 5107; 38C.F.R. §§3.102, 3.303 REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran had active duty service from May 1975 to May 1979, from August 1990 to August 1991, from January 2003 to January 2004, and from February 2004 to July 2004, with additional periods of Army National Guard service until his retirement in January 2009. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2011 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge during an October 2017 Board videoconference hearing. A transcript of the proceeding has been associated with the claims file. This matter was previously before the Board and remanded for additional development in May 2018 and in May 2020. The development having been accomplished; the case has since been returned to the Board for its review. The Veteran has a current diagnosis of bilateral shoulder arthritis; lumbar spine degenerative changes; and degenerative arthritis of the knees. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (a). To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a Veteran must show: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009). Service treatment records generated during active duty do not show any injury to the knees or shoulders. Notably, when the Veteran separated from a period of active duty in January 2004, his upper extremities, his lower extremities, and his spine was normal on clinical evaluation. However, he did have a permanent profile for running, (due to shin splints, rather than any claimed disability), and a June 2004 record shows that the Veteran was seen for lumbar complaints that was considered to be a muscle strain. In addition, a post deployment health assessment accomplished in July 2004, showed the Veteran reported he had symptoms of swollen, stiff, or painful joints, and back pain. However, no specific diagnosis or particular joint was identified, and no particular injury or disease was documented. Thus, it does not appear there was any in-service injury or disease to the knees or shoulders to which any current disability may relate. Together, these facts weigh strongly against the claim concerning the knees and shoulders. This evidence may provide some support for the low back claim, but since the current diagnosis for the lumbar spine is degenerative changes, (rather than a muscle strain) its support is tenuous. Medical records the Veteran's unit maintained show shoulder complaints in 2005 as well as back and knee complaints in 2007, but these are outside periods of active service. They do not reveal any medical nexus with a period of active service, but simply document the Veteran's state of health at that time. This evidence does not support a finding the any claimed disability was incurred in service, (i.e., that there is a disability resulting from injury or disease contracted in the line of duty in the active military service.) The Veteran submitted statements from those with whom he served who recalled the Veteran experienced pain to his knees, back and shoulders on active duty, and therefore, the Board sought a medical opinion to address whether those complaints could have been an earlier manifestation of the later diagnosed disabilities. The opinions obtained in 2020 concluded this was not the case. This conclusion was based on the observations that the records from the various periods of active service fail to show any relevant complaints for the knees and shoulders, (which the Board notes is in a context of records showing other medical complaints), and the 2006 back complaint was muscular in origin. She indicated this muscular complaint cannot cause the Veteran's skeletal condition. In addition, because the current arthritis diagnoses did not come until 2010 at the earliest (knees) and this was many years after active service, she considered it less likely than not that the claimed disabilities were related to service. In this regard, she considered a 2005 reference to shoulder arthritis to be incorrect, because no actual x-ray report of that date is found in the file, and a 2010 shoulder x-ray report revealed normal findings. She also offered that the knee and lumbar spine disability was due to the natural progression of aging. This medical opinion weighs against the claim. There is no medical opinion of record that supports the claim. The Veteran appears to contend that the claimed disabilities are linked to use of the respective joints that took place when he was on active duty. This does not appear to describe an injury to which current disability may relate, but rather, it is a medical opinion. The Veteran is not shown to have the expertise to offer a probative medical opinion. After considering the above, the Board finds the greater weight of the evidence is against the claim, and service connection for shoulder, knee, and lumbar spine disability is not warranted. The appeal is denied. M E. KILCOYNE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board V. Geer, Associate Counsel The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.