🧾 Updates to Chiropractic ICD10 Codes - Effective October 1, 2025

What You Need to Know to Stay Compliant, Clear, and Connected

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🌟 The Importance of These ICD-10 Codes for Chiropractors

Every year in October, ICD-10 codes are updated to incorporate new clinical insights and documentation standards. This year's changes provide greater clarity on pain patterns, spinal disc degeneration, and social determinants of health, which are particularly significant for chiropractic care. Whether you're updating office software, training your team, or informing patients, this guide will assist you in staying aligned.

❌ No Longer Valid as Standalone Codes

Three commonly used spinal degeneration codes have been converted into parent categories. They are no longer billable on their own and must be replaced with more specific subcodes:

• M51.35 – Other intervertebral disc degeneration, thoracolumbar region

• M51.36 – Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbar region

• M51.37 – Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbosacral region

➡️ Use the expanded codes below to ensure claim approval and accurate documentation.

🆕 Expanded Subcodes (Now Required for Billing)

Each of these now requires a sixth character to specify symptom type:

🔹 M51.36 Series (Lumbar Region)

• M51.360 – With discogenic back pain only

• M51.361 – With lower extremity pain only

• M51.362 – With discogenic back pain and lower extremity pain

• M51.369 – Without mention of lumbar back pain or lower extremity pain

🔹 M51.37 Series (Lumbosacral Region)

• M51.370 – With discogenic back pain only

• M51.371 – With lower extremity pain only

• M51.372 – With discogenic back pain and lower extremity pain

• M51.379 – Without mention of lumbar back pain or lower extremity pain

🔹 M51.35 Series (Thoracolumbar Region)

• M51.350 – With discogenic back pain only

• M51.351 – With lower extremity pain only

• M51.352 – With discogenic back pain and lower extremity pain

• M51.359 – Without mention of back pain or lower extremity pain

🌟 Other Chiropractic ICD10 Code Changes

🔹 Pain & Tenderness Codes (R-Codes)

• R10.20–R10.24 – Pelvic, perineal, and suprapubic pain (with side specificity)

• R10.8A1–R10.8A3 – Flank and suprapubic tenderness

• R10.A1–R10.A3 – Flank pain, side-specific

  
  

🔹 Contusion Codes (S-Codes)

• S30.11XA–S30.13XA – Contusions of abdominal wall, groin, and flank (initial encounter)

  
  

🔹 Other Musculoskeletal Code

• M21.159 – Varus deformity, unspecified hip

  
  

🔹 Social Determinants of Health (Z-Codes)

• Z59.0–Z59.5 – Homelessness, food insecurity, extreme poverty

• Z59.81 – Housing instability

• Z60.2, Z60.4, Z60.82 – Living alone, social exclusion, social isolation

• Z63.72 – Caregiver stress

❌ Deleted Codes

• R10.2 – Pelvic and perineal pain

• R10.8 – Other abdominal pain

🌟 Done For You

✅ Update DocPlus software with expanded codes

📋 Action Steps for Chiropractic Practices

✅ Download the complete list of ICD-10 Codes for Chiropractic

✅ Avoid using M51.35–M51.37 without sixth-character specificity

✅ Document symptom type clearly (e.g., discogenic pain vs. radiculopathy)

✅ Train staff on documentation requirements for pain location and neurologic

symptoms

✅ Educate patients on how social factors may influence care plans

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UPDATED CODE LIST

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📬 Questions?

Please contact DocPlus with any questions regarding these changes.

Phone: 800-642-0600 Email: training@docplus.net

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🖥️ Looking for Chiropractic Documentation Software That Keeps Up?

If you're navigating these Chiropractic ICD10 Code updates and wondering whether your current documentation system can keep pace, you're not alone. Accurate coding, intuitive templates, and seamless EMR integration are essential—not just for compliance, but for clarity and care. Whether you're a solo practitioner or part of a multidisciplinary team,

choosing software that supports chiropractic-specific workflows can make all the difference.

👉 Schedule a demo to see how DocPlus simplifies documentation and keeps your practice aligned.

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