Workers compensation spinal stenosis diagnosis begins with a complete history and physical examination. The doctor will ask questions about your symptoms and how your problem is affecting your daily activities. This will include questions about pain or if there are feelings of numbness or weakness in the legs. This is when the patient should clearly explain to the doctor or intake person how any job duties affect the back pain or limit range of motion. Also, any specific accident or particular incident, which incited or aggravated back pain should also be told to the doctor's office. It is important that the injured worker tell the doctor how the worker believes the back pain is work-related. Consistent medical histories to each doctor or therapist are important to the credibility of the case.
Workers Compensation Spinal Stenosis Diagnosis
Workers Compensation Spinal Stenosis
Workers compensation spinal stenosis is often denied by insurance companies as a pre-existing or not work-related condition. Our office understands this is most often a bogus defense and we regularly obtain disability benefits for injured workers with spinal stenosis if supported by the facts and expert medical opinions. According to the North American Spine Society (NASS), spinal stenosis describes a clinical syndrome of buttock or leg pain. These symptoms may occur with or without back pain. It is a condition in which the nerves in the spinal canal are closed in, or compressed. The spinal canal is the hollow tube formed by the bones of the spinal column. Anything that causes this bony tube to shrink can squeeze the nerves inside. As a result of many years of wear and tear from job duties on the parts of the spine, the tissues nearest the spinal canal sometimes press against the nerves. This helps explain why lumbar spinal stenosis (stenosis of the low back) is a common cause of back problems in adults over 55 years old, especially those involved in heavy physical labor.
