Our Baltimore Social Security Lawyers Discuss Social Security Disability and Back Pain
If you have filed or are planning to file for disability, our Baltimore Social Security lawyers may be able to help you earn the benefits you deserve. However, if your claim revolves around back pain, the process may be complicated. Disability claims that focus on back pain generally come down to the claimant’s credibility and whether the claimant’s complaints of pain are believed. Many different conditions can cause back pain, including those that happen normally as the body ages. Chronic conditions that may cause back pain include inflammatory conditions such as spondylitis, arachnoiditis and rheumatoid arthritis. Degenerative discs caused by wear and tear may also cause back pain. Problems involving the nerves in the back such as herniated discs, spinal stenosis and nerve root compression may cause back pain as well. Back pain can also be caused byscoliosis or spondylolisthesis. Baltimore Social Security lawyers may be able to help you find out if your specific condition is likely to result in disability benefits.
Is It Possible to Get Disability for Back Pain?
Even though back pain can be agonizing and even incapacitating, Social Security does not often grant SSDI or SSI disability benefits for back pain alone. Fortunately, while earning benefits is difficult, it is not impossible. In order for you to qualify for disability benefits, you must have a medically determinable impairment that continues for one year or more according to the Social Security requirements. Baltimore Social Security lawyers may be able to help you figure out if you might qualify. This means that your doctor’s notes, MRIs or ex-rays must demonstrate that your back pain is caused by a abnormal physical feature in the spine or the spinal canal. If you have back pain but do not have a physical impairment that is known for producing pain symptoms like yours, you are unlikely to receive disability benefits. Do take note that back pain caused by obvious injuries such as fractures and strains usually heal in several months or less, so if this is what causes your pain, you will not qualify for Social Security disability or SSI.
How Social Security Will Evaluate Your Pain’s Severity
Social Security receives many disability claims for back pain, but only a few of the worst cases are approved for benefits. Social Security will determine if yours is one of the most serious by looking at several factors. One factor is your objective symptoms. Social Security will look at your symptoms to see if they match their requirements for spinal disorders. Social Security will also examine your functional limitations to see if, for example, your range of motion is limited so you cannot bend. Social Security will examine if you have trouble walking or cannot stay in one position for too long. Because most of your claim will be based on your subjective reports, Social Security will also look into your credibility.
Evaluating Your Credibility
Social Security considers several factors when determining your credibility. For example, Social Security will want to know how often you have gone to the doctor, which treatments you have explored, what your doctor thinks of your limitations and pain, and how the pain affects daily living activities. Social Security will also examine whether you appear to be exaggerating your level of pain and how much pain is typically reported by other people who have similar conditions. If you report that your back pain is severe but your test results do not indicate that you should be in that much pain, Social Security may send you for a consultative exam with a psychiatrist.
Contact Our Baltimore Social Security Lawyers
For more information on how our Baltimore Social Security lawyers can help you, contact Disability Benefits, Inc. at 800-899-7040.
