BACK PAIN AND SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY

There are 33 moving parts in the human spine.  And the spine is one of the most overworked parts of the body.  No wonder, then, that we have so much back pain.  As we age, the spine begins to degenerate.  We develop a natural disorder that doctors call degenerative disc disease.

Social Security awards more benefits for back or musculoskeletal disorders than for any other impairment.

How Will Social Security Evaluate Back Pain?

1.  They will want to know what is causing the pain.  You need a diagnosis by a doctor, preferably an orthopedic specialist, which is based on X-rays, MRI or other tests.  You can't get disability benefits merely with a subjective complaint of back pain.  You need to establish the cause, whether it is degenerative disc disease, spondylosis or neural forminal stenosis.  This is the important starting place.


2.  You will need medical records to establish the onset, duration and severity of symptoms.  In essence, when did the symptoms begin, how long have they lasted and how bad are they?

3.  Use medical records to show Social Security what treatments or interventions have been tried to make you better.  Have you taken medicines, steroid injections, nerve blocks, physical therapy...,etc.?  Social Security generally wants to see that you have tried reasonable medical treatment and that it has failed to make you better.

4.  Demonstrate how your back problems limit your ability to perform the functions normally required in a work environment.  In other words, how is your ability to lift, stand, walk, sit, reach, crouch, kneel, grasp or handle limited by your impairment(s)?  Remember, there are several categories of functional limitations:

• Exertional Limitations:  Difficulty sitting, standing, walking, lifting, pushing or pulling.
• Postural Limitations:  Difficulty bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, climbing, etc.
• Mental Limitations:  Difficulty concentrating, focusing, understanding, remembering, interacting with others, etc.
• Environmental Limitations:  Difficulty with extreme hot or cold temperatures, odors, humidity, vibrations, dust, fumes or pulmonary irritants.

Typically, none of these limitations are defined in routine medical records from your doctors. Therefore, getting your doctor to complete a residual functional capacity opinion could have a great, positive impact on your claim. 

The best claims are when your attorney can go in and say:  "My client has degenerative disc disease with a herniated disc at the L4-L5 level verified by an imaging study; this causes severe pain in the back radiating to the right lower extremity and Dr. Pillman states that this restricts the ability to stand to not more than 2 hours per 8-hour day, to walk no more than 1 hour per day and to sit no more than 3 hours per day.  Also, Dr. Pillman opines that the claimant is restricted to lifting no more than 10 pounds occasionally.

Why is this such a good case?  Because it defines the medical problem very specifically, leaving nothing to guesswork.  It also translates the medical problem into vocational problems.  The claimant can't work because he can't sit,stand, walk or lift enough to get through an 8-hour work day.  This meets the federal definition of being disabled.

A very weak case would simply go in and say, "My client has some pretty bad back pain, we don't know why, and he feels he would be unable to work."  This is a nearly certain denial.
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Charles W. Forsythe
7027 Old Madison Pike - Suite 108
Huntsville, AL 35806

PH (256) 799-0297

E-MAIL US:   forsythefirm@gmail.com