Yes, degenerative disc disease can be disabling. The weakening of your discs can lead to excruciating, chronic pain worsened by work activities. Whether or not your degenerative disc disease is classified as a disability will depend on the severity and frequency of your pain.
To qualify automatically for SSDI because of degenerative disc disease, you must have to have severe symptoms such as requiring assistance to walk, needing to adjust your position more than every two hours and suffer from nerve-specific problems.
Degenerative Disc Disease is not life threatening, but if left untreated, can lead to debilitating pain, permanent damage, and serious conditions such as spinal osteoarthritis, herniated discs, spinal stenosis and potentially paralysis.
This condition is called stenosis. Stenosis can cause pain and weakness in your arms and legs, in some cases resulting in your need for a cane, walker, or crutches.
Degenerative joint disease, or DJD, is progressive, which means symptoms worsen over time. This can make it difficult for those who suffer from DJD to participate in activities of daily living or to work. If DJD interferes with your ability to work you may be eligible for social security disability (SSD) benefits.
So what spine disorders qualify for disability? Common disabling spinal disorders include cervical spinal stenosis, lumbar spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, facet arthritis, spinal arachnoiditis, herniated discs, and vertebral fractures.
Individuals with degenerative disc disease can be severely limited by the condition. If you work in a physical job or a sedentary one, the pain of degenerative disc disease can be enough to prevent you from performing both mental and physical job duties.
People with degenerative disk disease should avoid slouching and a sedentary lifestyle. They should also refrain from exercise or activities that are high impact or involve heavy lifting. Many people experience lower back pain due to degenerative disk disease.
Degenerative disc disease can certainly be exacerbated by sitting. People with this condition often find that sitting for long periods can cause them a lot of pain, so they tend to favor standing.
A degenerative disc in the lower back may result in pain or numbness in the back, buttock or leg, difficulty walking and lack of balance or coordination. Occasionally, bowel and bladder control problems may occur with spinal cord stenosis or significant nerve compression.
Periods of severe pain that come and go. These last from a few days to a few months before getting better. They can range from nagging pain to disabling pain. Pain can affect the low back, buttocks and thighs or the neck, depending on where the affected disc is, radiating to the arms and hands.
Collapsing Stage (Stage 4)
In the final stage of DDD, the spinal discs become dangerously thin and may become herniated, collapsed, and/or disintegrated. The severe pain felt during this stage often results from bone rubbing against bone or from herniated discs pushing into nerves.
Consider over-the-counter medications to fight inflammation or prescription medications for pain. Consider physical therapy to strengthen your neck and back muscles (which help to support your spine) Practice back-friendly postures including lifting safely and using good posture when sitting, standing, and walking.
Long-term Outcomes of Degenerative Disc Disease
The degenerative process of the spinal disc may start gradually or suddenly, but progresses over 2 to 3 decades from severe and at times even disabling bouts of pain to a state in which the spine is restabilized and the pain is diminished. Spinal osteoarthritis.
he main reason to perform more tests is if the symptoms are getting worse despite treatment, if the pain is severe or if you have signs of nerve damage — particularly nerve damage that is getting worse. The signs of worsening nerve damage would be increasing tingling or numbness, weakness and sometimes increasing pain.
Bending forward (flexion) and twisting (rotation) are shear and compressive forces on the disc that lead to torn, herniated discs causing low back and leg pain. These movements done repetitively cause wear and tear on the discs, which lead towards tears and herniations.
A single injection of cells and fluid derived from human donor tissue was successful long-term in relieving pain and restoring physical function in patients with degenerative disc disease, according to new research presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology in Phoenix.
While there is no way to totally correct degenerative disc disease, for the vast majority of people suffering low back pain, sciatica, neck pain, or arm pain and tingling due to this condition, they can successfully manage their pain and regain their lives – while avoiding surgery.
Treatment for Degenerative Disc Disease
Many people with degenerative disc disease find that medication and physical therapy relieve back or neck pain. If diagnostic tests indicate that changes in the discs cause vertebrae to move out of place or put pressure on nearby nerves, doctors may recommend surgery.
If back or neck pain caused by degenerative disc disease doesn't respond to medication or therapeutic injections, NYU Langone doctors may recommend a surgical procedure. Surgeons may remove some or all of a damaged disc, take pressure off a pinched nerve, or eliminate movement between the bones of the spine.
What Is the Most Approved Disability? Arthritis and other musculoskeletal system disabilities make up the most commonly approved conditions for social security disability benefits. This is because arthritis is so common. In the United States, over 58 million people suffer from arthritis.
To qualify for Social Security disability benefits with a back problem you must be able to to show that your back problem is so severe that you will be out of work for at least one year because of it.