How Can I Prove My Chronic Back Pain is Disabling?

One of the most common questions that clients have is “how can I prove that my chronic back pain is disabling?” Well, 80% of Americans suffer from some form of back pain. And Social Security knows that it’s very common. The question for Social Security is not going to be whether or not you have a back problem, the question is going to be how severe it is, or if you are actually considered disabled. There are three pointers that will show social security that you not only have back problems, but that they’re very severe.

  • You really need to get an MRI. An x-ray of your back is ok, a CT scan is better, but the very best is an MRI. It’s going to show all the problems with your back.
  • You need to get treatment from a specialist who is recommending some form of advanced treatment. So, typically this might be a recommendation of a surgery, this might be back injections, or it might be pain management. Any one of those three will tell Social Security that this is pretty severe. Especially a surgery. They take that very seriously.
  • You need to seek frequent treatment. The more often you treat, the more likely you are to win. That’s as simple as that. If you have two people who are identical and one goes to the doctor every 6 months and the other goes every month…the one that goes more often is the one they’ll feel is more likely to have a disabling condition. So, go to the doctor as much as you can.

If you have any questions regarding chronic back pain or receiving Social Security benefits, fill out a contact form or give us a call, we’d love to help.