Social Security Disability Benefits for Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis is a back disorder that occurs when the space surrounding the spinal canal narrows, causing compression of the spinal cord and nerves. Stenosis is usually a result of the aging process—it's most commonly diagnosed in people 50 years of age or older—but it may also be caused by a bulging or herniated disc at any age.

Stenosis of the spine is often diagnosed as foraminal stenosis because it typically affects the openings (foramina) between the bones in your back. Lumbar stenosis occurs in the lower back and can cause pain and weakness in your legs or feet. Cervical stenosis happens in the neck and can result in numbness in your arms and hands. When these symptoms significantly affect your ability to work full-time, you may qualify for Social Security benefits (SSDI or SSI).

Is Spinal Stenosis a Permanent Disability?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) awards disability benefits to people who are unable to work full-time for at least one year due to a medically determinable impairment. Because stenosis is typically progressive—meaning it gets worse over time—and doctors can use objective methods to see that your foramen have narrowed or your limbs aren't correctly receiving signals from your spinal cord, stenosis can be the basis for a disability finding.

The more severe and extensive your stenosis is, the more likely you'll be to qualify for benefits. For example, lumbar stenosis commonly causes neurogenic claudication (also called pseudoclaudication), leg pain and weakness caused by compression of the spinal nerves. Mild or moderate claudication can make it difficult to walk, which limits the types of jobs you can do.

Severe cases of lumbar stenosis affect the cauda equina, a bundle of nerve roots that descends from the end of the spinal cord. When stenosis compresses the cauda equina severely enough, it causes muscle weakness, pain, and cramping extending from the buttocks down through the leg that can affect your ability to stand and walk without assistance (such as a cane or walker).

When Does Stenosis Qualify for Disability Benefits?

Social Security maintains a listing of impairments for conditions that the agency considers especially severe. If you meet the documentation requirements of a listed impairment, you can qualify for SSDI or SSI automatically. Because listing requirements tend to be complicated, you'll likely need your doctor's help to read through them and determine whether you might "meet a listing."

Getting Disability for Stenosis by Meeting a Listing

People with lumbar spinal stenosis that affects the cauda equina may qualify for disability under listing 1.16 if they can provide evidence of the following:

• symptoms of "neurological compromise" (nerve pressure) in the cauda equina, manifesting as:
• nonradicular distribution of pain in one or more lower extremities (legs and feet)
• nonradicular distribution of sensory loss in one or more lower extremities, or
• pseudoclaudication.
  
  
• a diagnostic test or physical examination showing nonradicular neurological signs of muscle weakness, along with either decreased deep tendon reflexes or sensory changes as evidenced by:
• decreased sensation
• abnormal nerve latency on electrodiagnostic testing, and
• lack of reflexes, trophic ulcers (a type of chronic wound caused by nerve damage), or incontinence of the bladder or bowels.
  
  
• an MRI, CT scan, or other imaging showing compromise of the cauda equina with stenosis, and
• functional limitations in your lower extremities such that either:
• you need a bilateral mobility device, such as a walker or wheelchair, that requires two hands to use, or
• you can't use one hand and need the other to operate a one-handed ambulatory aide, such as a cane or crutch.

The criteria listed above must be present at the same time or within a "close proximity of time," typically meaning 4 months (12 months during the "pandemic period" beginning April 2, 2021 and ending on May 11, 2025). So if you had evidence of symptoms, signs, and functional limitations from stenosis in 2020 but didn't have an MRI until 2024, Social Security might not count the MRI—unless, in a doctor's opinion, the MRI findings could be reasonably expected to have been present in 2020.

People with cervical stenosis may qualify automatically under listing 1.15, Disorders of the skeletal spine resulting in compromise of a nerve root. For more information about this listing, see our article on getting disability benefits for cervical spine disorders.

Getting Disability for Stenosis Using Your Residual Functional Capacity

If you don't meet the criteria for listing 1.16 or 1.15, you can qualify for disability benefits if your residual functional capacity (RFC) is reduced to the point that you can no longer do any jobs. Your RFC is an assessment of what you can still do in a work environment despite your stenosis symptoms. For example, if you have pain in your legs after walking for longer than 15 minutes, your RFC will likely restrict you to sit-down work. Or if you have cervical stenosis that limits your upper body range of motion, your RFC can restrict you from jobs involving lifting objects above a certain weight or reaching overhead.

Social Security compares your current RFC with the physical and mental demands of your past work to see if you could perform those jobs today. If you can't, the agency will then consider additional factors, such as your age, education, and transferable skills, to determine whether any other jobs exist that you can do despite the limitations in your RFC.

Applicants under the age of 50 generally need to show that they can't do even simple, sedentary work in order to qualify for disability with a reduced RFC. (To see what limitations contribute to a disabling RFC, see our article on getting disability benefits for back problems.) But applicants 50 years of age and older may be awarded benefits even if they can still perform sit-down jobs, using a special set of rules known as the medical-vocational grid.

Documenting Spinal Stenosis in Your Medical Records

Your medical records are the foundation of your disability claim. In order to decide whether you meet a listing or what to include in your RFC, Social Security will be on the lookout for the following information:

• progress notes containing your doctor's observations about your limitations
• results from physical examinations testing your reflexes and muscle strength
• prescriptions for any assistive mobility devices, such as a cane or walker
• medication lists with the purpose, dosage, and frequency of use
• physical therapy records
• hospital intake and discharge summaries for any surgical procedures you've undergone
• objective imaging, such as an X-ray, MRI, or CT scan, showing the extent of stenosis
• steroid injections or other pain relief treatments, and
• a medical source statement from your treating physician.

Because the disability determination process can take some time, make sure to let the SSA know when you've received more medical treatment or switched providers. In the early stages, the agency will collect records from sources you tell them about, but if you're waiting for a disability appeal hearing, you'll need to submit them yourself.

How to Apply for Disability Based on Spinal Stenosis

If you're applying for SSDI, you can file your entire claim using Social Security's web portal. Currently, people filing for SSI only can't file the whole application online, but they can get started online. You can also start your claim by speaking with a representative at 800-772-1213 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, or go in person to your local Social Security field office. For more information, see our article on applying for Social Security disability benefits.

If you'd like help with your application, or you just can't get started, think about working with an experienced disability attorney. According to a survey of our readers, applicants who filed an initial application without expert help were denied 80% of the time. Unless your spinal stenosis is so severe that you need help walking, you probably won't get disability benefits automatically. You'll need to rely on your doctor to document your functional restrictions and provide objective medical evidence to back them up. The doctor needs to submit this information to Social Security so that the agency can create an accurate RFC for you.

An attorney or disability firm can help you line this up. They'll know what questions to ask your doctor about your stenosis that will provide the SSA with the whole picture about your limitations. Consider getting a free case evaluation with a legal professional to determine whether your spinal stenosis is severe enough to qualify for benefits.