Chronic back pain symptoms directly impact a person's ability to work. The pain is often intense, and rest is necessary to relieve symptoms. Moreover, even sedentary jobs—such as administrative work in an office—can be difficult since sitting for extended periods can trigger symptoms.
Generally, your condition must prevent you from working. It also must be “severe.” That includes limiting your ability to perform essential work like walking, standing, or lifting things for at least a year. The SSA has a list of medical conditions that it will check to see if you qualify.
Report any pain or signs of back pain to your employer as soon as possible. If you are suffering from mild back pain, you can be off work for a week or two. If you are suffering from severe back pain, you can be off work for four weeks or more.
Most people recover from back pain and get back to work within 4 weeks. It is uncommon for workers to remain on sick leave for more than 6 months.
To qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, chronic back pain sufferers must prove they have a medically determinable impairment. Additionally, the impairment must last or be expected to last for a minimum of one year.
In order to be considered a 'disability,' your back pain must involve, among others, one of the following: Herniated discs. Compressed nerves. Degenerative disc disease.
“Red flags” include pain that lasts more than 6 weeks; pain in persons younger than 18 years or older than 50 years; pain that radiates below the knee; a history of major trauma; constitutional symptoms; atypical pain (eg, that which occurs at night or that is unrelenting); the presence of a severe or rapidly ...
Sick notes are not restricted to physical conditions like a bad back. They also encompass mental health issues that prevent you from being fit for work. You may require time off work for emergency situations.
“When your back hurts, it's not the time to be doing sit-ups, leg lifts, toe touches, high impact exercises or weight-lifting,” says Dr. Kumaraswamy. “Certain sports like golf, racquet sports and running should also be avoided until your back returns to normal.”
Both acute and chronic back pain can be associated with psychological distress in the form of anxiety (worries, stress) or depression (sadness, discouragement).
Bad back pain. __You may feel like a wimp calling in sick because your back hurts, but don't! Experts say sitting at a desk all day can actually aggravate your back and make the pain worse. Instead, after a mega back spasm, spend the day at home taking it easy.
Slowly increase your activity as you are able. Use over-the-counter and prescription pain relievers for severe pain as directed by your doctor. Get physical therapy to help strengthen muscles and improve your posture. Check with your doctor or physical therapist before starting any exercise routine.
But driving with back pain can make traffic jams much more than a nuisance. Long hours on the road can cause new back problems or aggravate existing ones. The vibration, acceleration, deceleration and jolting of your vehicle can damage the discs between your vertebra.
Chronic pain syndrome can force people to retire early or severely limit their daily activities. In many cases, people have pain that is not curable. The Social Security Administration does not consider chronic pain to be a disability and chronic pain syndrome is not listed as an impairment in the Blue Book.
There are many different kinds of pain scales, but a common one is a numerical scale from 0 to 10. Here, 0 means you have no pain; one to three means mild pain; four to seven is considered moderate pain; eight and above is severe pain.
Chronic back pain is pain that continues for 12 weeks or longer, even after an initial injury or underlying cause of back pain has been treated.
The surrounding spinal nerves constantly have pressure placed on them as the subluxations change the spinal shape ever so slightly. This can lead to pain because of pinched nerves, but can lead to pain in other seemingly unrelated areas of your body as well. Constant pain can lead to feelings of fatigue.
You Can Return to Work While Still Being Treated
It is possible for your doctor to clear you for light work, even if your injury is not completely healed. In these cases, you can return to your job on a slightly modified position that can accommodate your condition.