S39.012 — Strain of muscle, fascia and tendon of lower back
S39.012 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for strain of muscle, fascia and tendon of lower back. It cannot be billed on its own: choose one of the more specific child codes below. This code also requires a 7th character before it is complete.
This code requires a 7th character
The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S39
- A
- initial encounter
- D
- subsequent encounter
- S
- sequela
Other codes that can never be billed with S39.012
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at S39.012. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading S39.012 alone.
- M54.5Low back pain
Risk adjustment
S39.012 does not map to an HCC and does not risk-adjust under CMS-HCC V28. That is normal — most ICD-10 codes do not. It still needs to be coded correctly; it just will not move a RAF score.
How S39.012 is indexed
Coders do not find codes by browsing the tabular list — they look them up in the alphabetic index, under the word the physician wrote. These are the index entries that lead here, so you can see which chart wordings map to S39.012.
- Strain›back
- Strain›low back
- Injury›muscle›lower back›strain
Code to one of these instead S39.012
3 child codes. Green means billable.
Related codes at this level
Codes that share S39.01. If S39.012 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about S39.012
- Is S39.012 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- No. S39.012 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
- Where does S39.012 sit in the tabular list?
- Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88), in the block Injuries to the abdomen, lower back, lumbar spine, pelvis and external genitals (S30-S39).