Applying for Social Security Disability or SSI with Chronic Pain

Here's a link to this site's page on chronic pain and filing for disability benefits with the social security administration. As a disability examiner, I found that it was fairly difficult for claimants to become approved at the initial claim and reconsideration levels if their chief allegation was chronic pain and they listed nothing else. Fortunately, in this regard, it is the rare case in which an applicant lists only one condition. Typically, most individuals who file for disability list a number of various conditions both physical and mental. It's important to remember, and I tend to state this repeatedly, it is not the condition with which social security is concerned, but, rather the effect the condition has on the claimant and the claimant's ability to engage in work activity--a past job or another type of job that they might be suited for--that affords them a substantial and gainful income. For social security disability eligibility purposes, a claimant's condition must be severe enough to rule out the possibility of engaging in this type of work activity for at least 12 full months.

Here is an excerpt of page on chronic pain and social security disability, followed by a link to the page itself:

Part of the problem that a claimant with chronic pain may face when filing for disability benefits is the fact that disability examiners (examiners make decisions on initial claims) and administrative law judges look for objective signs of residual functional capacity ("residual functional capacity" is what you can still do even with your condition). Pain, of course, tends to be subjective and difficult to measure.

Social Security Disability SSI and Chronic Pain


Here are links to other pages on the site that provide information relating to chronic pain.

1. Experiencing and understanding chronic pain

Excerpt: "Brain imaging has shown that individuals who experience chronic pain have different brain activity patterns and respond differently to pain than those who do not suffer from chronic pain"

2. Chronic pain changes how the brain works

Excerpt: "Both test groups perform well, however functional magnetic resonance imaging showed that chronic pain sufferers had to use much more of their brain to process the simple task"

3. Chronic pain management

Excerpt: "Chronic pain comes primarily from two sources – cancer and nerve damage, according to Dr. Uday Doctor, Texas Orthopedic Hospital’s chief of pain management"

4. Pain and depression

Excerpt: "Researchers decided that when a patient is depressed the level of chronic pain they feel is amplified. When taking anti-depressants, patients were able to reduce their levels of pain"





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Social Security Disability Secrets

Social Security Disability Benefit Questions


Other Posts

How to Claim Disability Benefits
Qualifying for disability on the first application
Social Security Disability and to Qualify for Benefits
How likely would I be to qualify for social security disability benefits?