Medical records are helpful to a disability case, but which medical records?

Not all records are helpful to a case. And, in this regard, I mean records from non-medical sources such as chiropractors, naturopaths, or anyone who is not licensed to practice medicine. Usually, this means anyone who does not have the professional privilege of writing prescriptions. This is why even though a nurse is a medical professional, they cannot supply records that by themselves that are especially useful to a disability case.

On the subject of chiropractors, Chiropractic medicine helps alleviate the pain of many thousands of patients. However, chiropractors are not considered medical treatment sources by the social security administration (they cannot write prescriptions) and their records are not used in deciding social security disability and SSI disability cases.

Tip: if you have back problems and are receiving treatment only from a chiropractor, you should, for the benefit of your case, consider seeking treatment from an M.D., possibly an orthopedist, and, perhaps, a pain specialist if you have ongoing and debilitating levels of pain.

On this subject, here are a few pages:

Medical Evidence Used on a Social Security Disability or SSI Claim

What happens if the Social Security disability examiner cannot find all the needed medical records?

How are medical records and work history used to determine a social security disability claim?

If You File For Social Security Disability How Far Back Will They Look At Your Medical Records?





I am a former disability examiner and I publish the website Social Security Disability Resource Center, or SSDRC for short. I also maintain a facebook page for SSDRC (Social Security Disability Blog.

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Neither this blog, nor the facebook page, nor my website are affiliated with the Social Security Administration.