Back Pain Disability Benefits

Bad backs can hurt — a lot. A bad back can certainly be the basis for a successful Social Security disability claim.

As with other cases, age makes a huge difference. It can be very hard to get approval for those under 50 years of age. Between age 50 and 54, it’s a little less difficult. For those 55 and older, it’s considerably less difficult.

Here are some things that may make a difference in a Social Security disability claim based upon a bad back:

• Have you had surgery? What kind of surgery? A lumbar fusion is a much more serious procedure than a lumbar microdiskectomy.  
• Do you have what doctors call radicular symptoms — what they sometimes call sciatica? I’m talking about symptoms such as pain, weakness and numbness not so much in the back as in a hip or thigh or calf or foot. 
• What do your x-rays and MRIs look like?
• What kind of work have you done? At the least, we have to prove that you’re no longer able to perform your old job. That’s easier to do if the old job was physically demanding than if it were an office job.