Getting Social Security disability benefits based on back pain
Many Social Security disability claimants suffer from debilitating back pain. Unfortunately, back pain can sometimes be difficult to establish as a basis for disability benefits because the Social Security Administration wants objective medical findings. The difficulty is that the severity of back pain cannot be measured by the standard medical tests of X-rays, CT scans, or MRI scans.
Social Security Administration factors for evaluating pain
In the regulations that govern how it evaluates disabilities, the Social Security Administration has said that it recognizes that symptoms can sometimes cause a greater severity of impairment than can be shown by objective medical evidence. The regulation then goes on to say that because pain can be subjective and difficult to quantify, the Social Security Administration will consider all evidence you can provide about your symptoms.
The Social Security Administration specifically recognizes that the following factors are relevant to understanding how much your pain disables you:
- Your daily activities.
- The location, duration, frequency, and intensity of your pain.
- Any precipitating and aggravating factors.
- The pain medication that you have taken, including its type, dosage, effectiveness and side effects.
- Any other treatment (other than medication) that you have received for your pain.
- Things you do to relieve your back pain (for example, lying flat on your back, standing instead of sitting, or sleeping on a board).
- Any other things that show your limitations and restrictions due to pain or other symptoms.
Social Security lawyers can help with your back pain claim for disability benefits
Although they are relatively common, back injury claims can be difficult to prove because of the difficulty of providing objective medical evidence. Your chances for success will be greatly improved if you have an experienced Social Security disability lawyer working with you to help you present the best evidence to the Social Security Administration.
If you are not already represented by an Illinois (or Indiana or Wisconsin or Missouri) Social Security disability lawyer, consider asking for our evaluation of your claim. Give us a brief description of your claim using the form on this page, or you may contact our office at:
KATZ FRIEDMAN
Eagle, Eisenstein, Johnson & Bareck
Illinois Social Security disability attorneys
77 W. Washington, 20th Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
Additional offices to serve Illinois Social Security disability claimants in Wheaton, Rockford, DeKalb, Bloomington, Quincy, Decatur, Mattoon, Mt. Vernon, Danville, and Aurora.
