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Degenerative disc disease can qualify for Social Security Disability benefits when it causes serious limitations that keep you from working. A diagnosis alone does not mean the Social Security Administration (SSA) will approve a claim. SSA looks at your medical evidence, your symptoms, and what you are still able to do despite your condition.
If you are wondering whether degenerative disc disease qualifies for disability, the answer depends heavily on how the condition affects you. Back or neck pain, weakness, numbness, and trouble sitting, standing, or walking may all matter when SSA reviews your claim.
Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can help you present the medical and work-related evidence behind your claim. A Rutherfordton Social Security Disability lawyer from our firm can also handle an appeal if SSA denies your initial application.
Degenerative Disc Disease May Qualify for Disability Benefits
SSA does not approve disability benefits based on the name of a medical condition alone. For an adult, the condition generally must keep the person from performing substantial gainful activity (SGA) and have lasted or be expected to last for at least 12 continuous months.
Degenerative disc disease can affect people in very different ways. One person may continue working with occasional back pain. Someone else may have severe pain, weakness, numbness, or problems using an arm or leg. These differences matter in a disability claim.
Farmer & Morris, PLLC can review your medical records and work history to see how they fit SSA’s disability rules. We can also identify information that may be missing from your claim.
Degenerative Disc Disease Can Cause Back and Neck Problems
Degenerative disc disease occurs when the discs between the bones of the spine wear down or change over time. These discs help cushion the spine and help it move.
Changes in the discs can make everyday movements and work tasks harder. A person may have trouble sitting at a desk for hours, staying on their feet, bending, lifting, or doing other physical tasks.
Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can look at how the condition limits your ability to work when preparing a Social Security Disability claim.
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SSA has a Listing That May Apply to Degenerative Disc Disease
SSA’s Listing of Impairments includes disorders of the skeletal spine that result in compromise of a nerve root. SSA specifically names degenerative disc disease as one of the conditions it considers under this category.
Listing 1.15 has detailed requirements. The medical evidence must document problems such as pain, tingling, or other abnormal sensations, or muscle fatigue along the affected nerve. SSA also looks for certain neurological signs, imaging showing compromise of a nerve root, and qualifying physical limitations that have lasted or are expected to last at least 12 months.
You do not need to sort through these requirements on your own if you are asking, “Does degenerative disc disease qualify for disability.” Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can compare the evidence in your records with the rules SSA uses when deciding disability claims.
You Could Qualify Even if You Do Not Meet a Listing
Failing to meet the exact requirements of a listing does not necessarily end a disability claim. SSA may move on to consider your residual functional capacity, often called RFC. Your RFC describes what you can still do despite your medical limitations.
For someone with degenerative disc disease, SSA may consider problems with activities such as:
- Sitting or standing for extended periods
- Walking
- Lifting and carrying
- Bending or reaching
- Pushing and pulling
- Using the hands and arms
- Staying in one position through a workday
Pain and other symptoms can also affect the types of work a person can perform. SSA compares your RFC with the demands of your past work. If you cannot perform that work, SSA may consider whether you can adjust to other work.
Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can help explain why your restrictions keep you from meeting the demands of a job on a regular basis.
Medical Records Can Show How Degenerative Disc Disease Affects You
Your medical records help SSA determine the nature and severity of your condition. A claim may include imaging results, examination findings, treatment records, and information about symptoms such as pain, weakness, or numbness.
The details in those records matter. An MRI may show a problem with a disc, for example, but SSA also needs information about the limitations caused by your medical condition. Its disability process looks at basic work activities such as lifting, standing, walking, and sitting.
Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can review the evidence already in your file and determine what other records may help document your claim.
Your Work History Also Matters to a Disability Claim
SSA considers more than your medical records when deciding whether you can work. If your condition does not meet or equal a listing, the agency may look at the physical demands of jobs you have held in the past.
For example, degenerative disc disease may make it difficult to return to a job that requires frequent lifting, carrying, standing, or bending. Being unable to return to your former job does not automatically qualify you for benefits.
SSA may then consider whether you can adjust to other work based on your RFC and vocational factors such as your age, education, and work experience. Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can gather information about your past jobs and explain the duties you performed. That history can help show why your medical restrictions prevent you from doing the work you did before.
A Disability Lawyer Can Help if SSA Denies Your Claim
A denial can identify medical or work-related issues that need to be addressed in an appeal. The next step depends on where the claim stands and why SSA denied it.
Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can review the denial, prepare the appeal, gather supporting documents, and represent you during the Social Security Disability process. If your case requires a hearing, our attorneys can prepare you for questions about your condition, treatment, symptoms, and work history.
Our firm handles Social Security Disability claims for people whose health keeps them from working. We can explain the process and what SSA will consider at the next stage of your case.
Talk to Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC About Your Disability Claim
Degenerative disc disease may interfere with work in ways that are hard to explain on an application. Pain may make sitting difficult, and weakness or numbness can affect lifting or walking. Your claim must show SSA what those problems mean for your ability to work.
Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can gather medical and work records and help present those limitations as part of your disability claim. We have served more than 10,000 clients and recovered over $100 million for clients. Our firm was voted The Best of Rutherford County from 2011 through 2023 and has six attorneys with experience in several areas of law.
We serve clients in North Carolina and South Carolina, with offices in Rutherfordton, Shelby, Morganton, and Spartanburg. Integrity. Experience. Results. Contact our office for a free consultation about seeking Social Security Disability benefits for degenerative disc disease.
