1.00: Musculoskeletal Disorders

What actually decides a claim under 1.00

Not the diagnosis and not the imaging on its own. The listings look for a documented underlying condition together with specific findings: nerve root compression, an inability to use one or both arms, or a documented need for a walker, two canes or a wheelchair. Severe imaging with preserved function is routinely denied; moderate imaging with documented functional loss is routinely approved. The word doing the work throughout is 'documented' — a need your doctor never wrote down is a need SSA does not count.

Conditions evaluated under 1.00

• Chronic Back PainHow SSA evaluates it, the evidence that decides it, and why claims are denied
• Degenerative Disc DiseaseHow SSA evaluates it, the evidence that decides it, and why claims are denied
• Spinal StenosisHow SSA evaluates it, the evidence that decides it, and why claims are denied
• OsteoarthritisHow SSA evaluates it, the evidence that decides it, and why claims are denied

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to meet 1.00 to be approved?

No. Meeting a listing is one route to approval and not the most common one. Most awards are made on residual functional capacity — what SSA concludes you can still do across a full working week, given your age, education and past work. A claim that falls short of 1.00 can still be approved that way, which is why a denial citing this listing is not the end of the matter.

What if my records do not meet 1.00 exactly?

Two things can still happen. SSA can find your condition medically equals the listing — equal in severity and duration without matching every criterion — or it can move on to the functional assessment described above. What sinks these claims is usually a gap in the file rather than a gap in the criteria: a limitation you live with that no doctor wrote down.

Which conditions are evaluated under 1.00?

Chronic Back Pain, Degenerative Disc Disease, Spinal Stenosis, Osteoarthritis. The criteria are the same; what differs is the evidence each condition needs to satisfy them.