Why isn't carpal tunnel syndrome a disability?

A woman I know has carpal tunnel syndrome so bad that she cannot pick up a full can of soda with one hand, has trouble with door knobs and other daily activity, has pain in her hands and fingers, and yet she was told by her doctor she cannot collect disability. She has to keep going to work and keep doing what is causing the injury. What sense does that make?

That is because those doctors are stupid!!The same reason why my Congestive Heart Failure isn't a disease it's a condition.I got denied Social Security 2 times.Yet I have chest pain everyday,swelling of the legs and ankles.Palpitations,shortness of breathe.Fatigue,trouble walking more than a block or more than a flight of stairs.I was put on a donors list 3 years ago for a heart.My left ventricle was severely damaged giving birth.My heart became enlarged.Trouble standing and sitting for long periods of time.I also have peri partum cardiomyopathy.I'm 30 with 3 kids and it's not fair I think in my situation they are basing it on my age.She should be able to get it,not right.These doctors don't really know what we go through.They look at their facts and text books and that's it.

Because it is correctable by surgery..but the Veterans administration does count it as a disability for soldiers...

you're right. Fight for her in court.

because it's a syndrome...

hum i thought it was?

i don't know many it's too new and no one takes it seriously? ????

maybe there's too many ways to help resolve the pain from it? (NOT!)

i don't know.. maybe it is, so far i've not heard anything about it. mine was corrected through medication.

strange.. and i had knots all over my wrists and they're gone now.

so there it went for me.

How would he know? If she can prove she can't function, she should file. Sounds to me like she needs a better doctor.

It doesn't make sense. She needs to find a doctor who's more sympathetic. There are also surgical and other treatment options, so I'm assuming she hasn't tried any of them yet.

If the CTS is that bad that she can't open a door, then she needs help (disability being one option), if only while she retrains for a different job that she can do.

Most of the time it can be corrected, I had both of mine done just recently and they sent me back to work the next day, and I do heavy labor. The doc. gave me a light duty slip for 3 days. I never needed it. I couldn't even hold paper. most workman's comp. cover it. Getting the operations were the single most best thing I have done in years. I couldn't sleep at night cause it was so bad.

I've been down a similar road. I can barely walk, and can't get the time of day from Social Security while a neighbor is addicted to cocaine and he is drawing a full disability. We have some very screwed up rules in this country.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is not a disability, although it may disable a person for a significant period of time because it is is (a) correctable via minor surgery where you'll be home the next day, at worst; (b) can be avoided by proper use of tools, etc.

Look, without going to a dictionary, "syndrome" refers to a set of symptoms that describe a condition. It is not something that is life-threatening or life-altering if the patient has proper sugery (it can re-occur insofar as the motions that caused it are not discontinued... like typing with bad body and hand positions).

The key words to remember are correctable and treatable plus therapeutic rehabilitation and prevention. See your doctor and ask for a referral to a specialist.