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R26.2 ICD-10-CM Code: Difficulty in walking, not elsewhere classified

Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
5 Excludes1 · 1 Excludes2

Inpatient Payment Groups (MS-DRG)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

MS-DRGs this diagnosis helps define, as principal or secondary, per the CMS ICD-10-CM/PCS MS-DRG Definitions Manual v43, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 555 — SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE WITH MCC (MDC 08)
  • MS-DRG 556 — SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE WITHOUT MCC (MDC 08)

A diagnosis appearing in a group's logic does not by itself determine the DRG assigned to a stay; the grouper uses the full claim.

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for R26.2 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2026Effective: October 1, 2025

Notes without a marker are published on R26.2 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

This page already reflects the FY2027 tabular note taking effect October 1, 2026.

Excludes1 — Not Coded Here

Conditions generally not reported together with this code (Excludes1) -- an error unless the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

Conditions not covered by this code, but which may be reported alongside it when both are present.

Coder workflow for R26.2

MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record

Before you code R26.2

  1. Check whether an established diagnosis that explains this sign or symptom is documented. If one is, review whether the documented diagnosis changes the coding pathway: a symptom that is integral to a confirmed diagnosis is not reported separately, while one not routinely associated with it may be. Signs and symptoms are reported when no definitive diagnosis is established (Guidelines I.B.4, I.B.5, I.B.6, I.C.18.b).

    Guide: Symptom code vs confirmed diagnosis →

  2. “Other” (NEC) means the condition is specified in the record but no dedicated code captures it. Confirm the documented form is not one a sibling code names before settling on R26.2; if the record states no specifics at all, the unspecified sibling applies instead. “Other” codes are for documented conditions the classification gives no specific code; “unspecified” codes are for records lacking the detail (Guidelines I.A.9.a, I.A.9.b).

    ReviewR26.0, R26.1

    See the relationships section · Guide: Other vs unspecified (NEC vs NOS) →

  3. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with R26.2. Excludes1 conditions are not reported together with this code unless the record shows they are unrelated (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

    See the official tabular notes

Choose the right path

  1. Is an established diagnosis that explains this sign or symptom documented?
    Yes → Review whether the documented diagnosis changes the coding pathway: a symptom integral to it is not reported separately.
    No → Continue — the sign or symptom code stands when no definitive diagnosis is established.
  2. Does the documentation support a condition named in R26.2’s Excludes1 note?
    Yes → Do not simply proceed: review the excluded code. Both are reported only when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated.
    No → Continue.

    ReviewR29.6, R27.0, G11, A52.11, M62.3

Consider R26.2. Then confirm the code is valid for the date of service in the Verify section.

Documentation check

The provider’s diagnostic statement
Codes are assigned from the provider’s documented diagnosis, not from clinical criteria, test values or a medication list (Guidelines I.A.19).
Any detail beyond this code’s title
What the record states that a more specific sibling code would capture — or its absence, which itself supports the unspecified code.

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes1 — check before selecting R26.2(5 notes)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with R26.2: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareR29.6, R27.0, G11, A52.11, M62.3

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.a

  • Excludes2 — not part of R26.2(1 note)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in R26.2. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

    CompareR26.81

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.b

Coding decision scenarios

Pattern scenarios for this code’s structure — decision rules, not clinical cases

Documentation: The sign or symptom is documented, and the same record establishes a diagnosis that routinely includes it.

Coding question: Is R26.2 reported in addition to the diagnosis?

Path: Review the documented diagnosis and whether the classification treats this finding as integral to it.

Reason: Signs and symptoms integral to a confirmed diagnosis are not coded separately; those not routinely associated with it may be reported when present (Guidelines I.B.5, I.B.6, I.C.18.b).

Documentation: Both the condition R26.2 describes and a condition named in its Excludes1 note are documented for the same encounter.

Coding question: Can both codes be reported?

Path: Review the Excludes1 note and the excluded code, and look for a provider statement on whether the two conditions are related.

Reason: Excludes1 means the two are not coded together; the exception is when the record shows the conditions are unrelated to each other (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

ReviewR29.6, R27.0, G11, A52.11, M62.3

Every row is derived from this code’s own record — its title, tabular notes, 7th-character family and same-category siblings — with fixed MedCoder wording; nothing is inferred about a patient. The official notes and guideline text are in the sections each row links to, and they control.

Code Overview

Difficulty in walking, not elsewhere classified is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (R26.2).

MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.

Indexed Clinical Terms (4)

Official source data — entries quoted as published, in the Index’s own lookup phrasing

Clinical term phrases from the official ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries that map to this code. These are alphabetic-index entries shown as the Index writes them — lookup phrasing, not necessarily the wording of a final diagnosis.

Verify Before Coding

  • No Medicare Code Editor or MS-DRG Definitions Manual restrictions apply to this code.

From the code registry, the Medicare Code Editor, and the MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Check it against a full claim in Claim Check.

Relationships & Classification

MedCoder structured relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name R26.2 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes. Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.

Referenced by 1 Excludes1 note: F82 — Specific developmental disorder of motor function (via R26.-).

These codes’ tabular lists mark this diagnosis as mutually exclusive — not reported together unless the conditions are documented as unrelated.

Referenced by 2 Excludes2 notes: M25 — Other joint disorder, not elsewhere classified (via R26.-), M25 — Other joint disorder, not elsewhere classified.

These codes’ tabular lists name this diagnosis as distinct — both may be reported when both are documented.

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2026)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2026 MS-DRG: not on the CMS CC/MCC list — as a secondary diagnosis this code does not change MS-DRG severity for that release.

Named in the grouper logic of 2 MS-DRGs: DRG 555 (MDC 08), DRG 556 (MDC 08).

From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):SYM010 — Nervous system signs and symptoms (default).

Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Related Codes

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Nervous system signs and symptoms).

R25.0 — Abnormal head movements, R25.1 — Tremor, unspecified, R25.3 — Fasciculation, R25.8 — Other abnormal involuntary movements, R25.9 — Unspecified abnormal involuntary movements, R26.0 — Ataxic gait, R26.1 — Paralytic gait, R26.81 — Unsteadiness on feet, R26.89 — Other abnormalities of gait and mobility, R26.9 — Unspecified abnormalities of gait and mobility, R27.0 — Ataxia, unspecified, R27.8 — Other lack of coordination, R27.9 — Unspecified lack of coordination, R29.0 — Tetany, R29.1 — Meningismus, R29.2 — Abnormal reflex, R29.5 — Transient paralysis, R29.810 — Facial weakness, R29.818 — Other symptoms and signs involving the nervous system, R29.90 — Unspecified symptoms and signs involving the nervous system, +138 more

Same Index main term, other category

The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main terms “Gait abnormality”, “Difficult, difficulty”, “Dysbasia”, …; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.

F81.89 — Other developmental disorders of scholastic skills (spelling, with reading disorder), F93.9 — Childhood emotional disorder, unspecified (reading, secondary to emotional disorders), F98.29 — Other feeding disorders of infancy and early childhood (feeding, nonorganic), G24.1 — Genetic torsion dystonia (lordotica), I73.9 — Peripheral vascular disease, unspecified (angiosclerotica intermittens), K91.30 — Postprocedural intestinal obstruction, unspecified as to partial versus complete (mechanical, gastroduodenal stoma, causing obstruction), K91.89 — Other postprocedural complications and disorders of digestive system (mechanical, gastroduodenal stoma), P92.5 — Neonatal difficulty in feeding at breast (feeding, newborn, breast), P92.8 — Other feeding problems of newborn (feeding, newborn, specified NEC), P92.9 — Feeding problem of newborn, unspecified (feeding, newborn), R29.6 — Repeated falls (falling), R39.191 — Need to immediately re-void (micturition, need to immediately re-void), R39.192 — Position dependent micturition (micturition, position dependent), R39.198 — Other difficulties with micturition (micturition, specified NEC), R63.30 — Feeding difficulties, unspecified (feeding), R63.39 — Other feeding difficulties (feeding, elderly), T88.4 — Failed or difficult intubation (intubation, in anesthesia), Z55.6 — Problems related to health literacy (understanding, medication instructions), Z55.8 — Other problems related to education and literacy (spelling, due to inadequate teaching), Z56.3 — Stressful work schedule (work, schedule), +7 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of R26.2 in one view: hierarchy, official tabular instructions in both directions, clinical classification, risk adjustment, MS-DRG participation, index terms and change history — each edge carrying the CMS source it derives from.

Run R26.2 with these 4 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Excludes1

  • R29.6 — Repeated falls[Excludes1]: “falling (R29.6)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Excludes2

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 08 — Diseases and Disorders of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue[MDC crossing]: “Diseases and Disorders of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs. 18,508 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2026

Index entries

  • Difficult, difficulty (in), walking[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Dysbasia[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Gait abnormality, walking difficulty NEC[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Walking, difficulty[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes

Change history (3)

Sources for this page

Codes, titles, notes, index terms and mappings on this page are transcribed from the datasets below. Relationships MedCoder computed and text MedCoder wrote are labelled where they appear.

Code, title, tabular notes and index terms Official source data
CMS/CDC ICD-10-CM FY2026 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2025 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v43.1 (April 2026) Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Inpatient payment groups Official source data
CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (incl. Appendix B diagnosis index, Appendix C CC/MCC list, Appendix E procedure index) and IPPS Final Rule tables — v43 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Change history and date-of-service validity Official source data
CMS ICD-10-CM release addenda, ingested release by release into the change ledger Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Comparisons, relationships and the contextual map MedCoder structured relationship
Computed by MedCoder from the tabular notes and tables above; every derived relationship is marked as derived where it appears
Summary and FAQ answers MedCoder explanation
Written by MedCoder to explain the sources above: drafted with AI assistance, checked by a person against the release files, and labelled as MedCoder text where it appears. Not official text.

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder structured relationship · MedCoder explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates

Cite this page

Reference this page in a research guide, syllabus or article. The release is included because code content changes each year.

MedCoder.ai. "R26.2 — Difficulty in walking, not elsewhere classified." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/r26.2-difficulty-in-walking-not-elsewhere-classified

Change history

  • Upcoming · effective FY2027 — October 1, 2026
    Excludes2 note will be added
    unsteadiness on feet (R26.81)
    FY2027 changes
  • Upcoming · effective FY2027 — October 1, 2026
    Excludes1 note will be removed
    unsteadiness on feet (R26.81)
    FY2027 changes
  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Difficulty in walking, not elsewhere classified

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to R26.2 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the R26 family