What is transverse myelitis?
Transverse myelitis is a neurological disorder caused by inflammation (swelling) across both sides of one level or segment of the spinal cord. Inflammation can damage or destroy myelin, the fatty protective substance that covers nerve cell fibers.
How long does it take to recover from transverse myelitis?
When recovery from transverse myelitis occurs, it usually begins from 2 to 12 weeks after you first have symptoms and can take up to 2 years. Most people will only have a single episode of transverse myelitis, but a few people may have a recurrence.
How does oxygen affect transverse myelitis?
If parts of the spinal cord don’t have enough oxygen, nerve cells often start to die. The dying tissue can cause the inflammation that leads to transverse myelitis.
Is transverse myelitis a critical illness?
Most people with transverse myelitis will have at least partial recovery. Unfortunately, some people may suffer permanent neurological damage and difficulties that affect their daily life. This usually happens where there was some degree of delay in diagnosis and correct treatment being put in place.
Is transverse myelitis a progressive disease?
Signs and symptoms of transverse myelitis usually develop over a few hours to a few days and may sometimes progress gradually over several weeks. Transverse myelitis usually affects both sides of the body below the affected area of the spinal cord, but sometimes there are symptoms on just one side of the body.
What are the long-term effects of transverse myelitis?
Rehabilitative and long-term therapy Common neurological deficits resulting from transverse myelitis include incontinence, chronic pain, and severe weakness, spasticity, or paralysis. In some cases, these may be permanent.
What spine problems qualify for disability?
So what spine disorders qualify for disability? Common disabling spinal disorders include cervical spinal stenosis, lumbar spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, facet arthritis, spinal arachnoiditis, herniated discs, and vertebral fractures.
Is transverse myelitis life long?
Some people recover fully from transverse myelitis within a few months or years, but others might continue to have long-term problems.
Is myelitis a disability?
Remember, you will only qualify for disability benefits if your transverse myelitis is severely disabling and long-lasting.
What can make transverse myelitis worse?
Cold weather and stress can also exacerbate symptoms. MS and transverse myelitis are both considered to be part of a group of neurological conditions called demyelinating conditions (conditions involving inflammation and damage to the myelin sheath).
How often does transverse myelitis turn into MS?
About 5%–10% of people who experience an attack of transverse myelitis will go on to develop multiple sclerosis. In these patients, the initial bout of TM most likely represents a first onset of MS, which causes inflammation in the spinal cord that manifests as transverse myelitis.
Is walking good for transverse myelitis?
Physiotherapy for transverse myelitis These include: Muscle Weakness - It is essential to keep exercising. Physiotherapy treatment will increase muscle strength by improving walking, running or swimming.
What is the most approved disability?
What Is the Most Approved Disability? Arthritis and other musculoskeletal system disabilities make up the most commonly approved conditions for social security disability benefits. This is because arthritis is so common. In the United States, over 58 million people suffer from arthritis.
Is spinal nerve damage a disability?
Qualifying for Disability Due to Spinal Nerve Root Compression. The Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes that severe nerve root compression can be debilitating, and as a result, the agency has created an official impairment listing in its "Blue Book" of impairments.
How hard is it to get disability for back problems?
To qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, chronic back pain sufferers must prove they have a medically determinable impairment. Additionally, the impairment must last or be expected to last for a minimum of one year.
Does transverse myelitis get worse over time?
Once they start, symptoms can get worse within hours. Most of the time, they peak within 10 days. At that point, about half the people who get transverse myelitis lose control of their legs. Most have some numbness, tingling, or a burning sensation in their back, belly, arms, or legs.
What is the prognosis for transverse myelitis?
Prognosis. Although most people with transverse myelitis have at least partial recovery, it may take a year or more. Most recovery occurs within the first three months after the episode and strongly depends on the cause of transverse myelitis.
Can you fully recover from transverse myelitis?
For some, healing may take months to years. About a third of people with transverse myelitis recover completely. Some people recover with moderate disabilities, such as bowel problems and trouble walking. Others have permanent disability and need help with daily activities.
How often does transverse myelitis turn into MS?
About 5%–10% of people who experience an attack of transverse myelitis will go on to develop multiple sclerosis. In these patients, the initial bout of TM most likely represents a first onset of MS, which causes inflammation in the spinal cord that manifests as transverse myelitis.
How long does a TM disability last?
In order to meet Social Security's definition of disability, the disabling condition must have lasted or be expected to last at least one year.
What causes TM in a person?
Doctors do not always know what causes an individual case of TM. In some cases, the disorder is caused by an infection. In about half of people with TM, the disease is associated with immune disorders like multiple sclerosis, lupus, and Sjogren's syndrome.
What is the name of the inflammation of the nerve cells that surround the spinal cord?
Transverse myelitis (TM) is inflammation of the tissue (called myelin) that surrounds nerve cell fibers around the spinal cord. TM can cause pain and muscle weakness, and severe cases can result in incontinence and paralysis of the legs. There is no cure for TM, but anti-inflammatory drugs can relieve some symptoms.
How long does a TM last?
TM typically lasts less than one year, although some individuals will never fully recover and will continue to have disabling symptoms after a year. Individuals whose doctors expect them to recover in less than one year (and who have no other disabling conditions) will not qualify for Social Security disability.
Can a TM patient qualify for Social Security?
TM patients whose doctors have linked their TM to another disorder may be able to meet a medical listing for the associated disorder. For more information about how claimants can qualify for Social Security by meeting the listings for specific neurological or immune system disorders, see articles on multiple sclerosis, lupus, and Sjogren's syndrome. Ask your treating doctor what condition yours is most similar to.
Does Social Security cover transverse myelitis?
Social Security does not have a specific disability listing for transverse myelitis. Severe cases of TM may be considered to " equal " the listing for spinal cord disorders, listing 11.08 in the neurological disorders section of Social Security's blue book.
Medically Qualifying with Transverse Myelitis
Social Security uses a manual known as the Blue Book when evaluating disability claims. The manual contains listings for many of the more common disabling conditions, including the medical evidence required for proving disability with each.
Getting Help with Your Transverse Myelitis Claim
While the SSA has standard processes for reviewing and approving claims, having the assistance of someone more familiar with the system can help, especially when applying for SSD with a condition for which there is no dedicated Blue Book listing.
What is transverse myelitis?
Transverse myelitis is an inflammation of the spinal cord, a major part of the central nervous system . The spinal cord carries nerve signals to and from the brain through nerves that extend from each side of the spinal cord and connect to nerves elsewhere in the body. The term myelitis refers to inflammation of the spinal cord; transverse refers to the pattern of changes in sensation—there is often a band-like sensation across the trunk of the body, with sensory changes below.
What diseases affect the spinal cord?
Other inflammatory disorders that can affect the spinal cord, such as sarcoidosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, mixed connective tissue disease, scleroderma, and Bechet's syndrome.
What is the best treatment for spinal cord infection?
Antiviral medications may help those individuals who have a viral infection of the spinal cord.
Is transverse myelitis a symptom of multiple sclerosis?
In some people, transverse myelitis represents the first symptom of an auto immune or immune-mediated disease such as multiple sclerosis or neuromyelitis optica. (Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is disease that causes distinctive lesions, or plaques, that primarily affect parts of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve—the nerve that carries information from the eye to the brain. Neuromyelitis optica, or NMO, is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that predominantly affects the optic nerves and spinal cord.) ”Partial” myelitis—affecting only a portion of the cord cross-section—is more characteristic of multiple sclerosis. Neuromyelitis optica is much more likely as an underlying condition when the myelitis is “complete” (causing severe paralysis and numbness on both sides)
What happens if myelin is damaged?
If the myelin becomes damaged, such as by inflammation, the signals between the brain and the spinal cord, as well as the rest of the body, may become disconnected or mixed up.
Why do disability examiners contact the claimant?
The examiner may contact the claimant to gather information on activities of daily living and with regard to medical treatment or past jobs , but usually nothing more.
What happens at the disability hearing level?
This is because at the initial levels of the disability system, a disability examiner decides the case without meeting the claimant. The examiner may contact the claimant to gather information on activities of daily living and with regard to medical treatment or past jobs, but usually nothing more. At the hearing level, however, presenting an argument for approval based on medical evidence that has been obtained and submitted is exactly what happens.
Does Social Security award benefits based on condition?
The important thing to keep in mind is that the social security administration does not award benefits based on simply having a condition, but, instead, will base an approval or denial on the extent to which a condition causes functional limitations. Functional limitations can be great enough to make work activity not possible (or, for a child, make it impossible to engage in age-appropriate activities).
Can a doctor state that a patient is disabled?
Note: it is not enough for a doctor to simply state that their patient is disabled. To satisy Social Security's requirements, the physician must list in what ways and to what extent the individual is functionally limited. For this reason, many representatives and attorneys request that the physician fill out and sign a specialized medical source statement that captures the correct information. Solid Supporting statements from physicians easily make the difference between winning or losing a disability case at the hearing level.
Who gets transverse myelitis, and when?
Transverse myelitis occurs in adults and children, in males and females and in all races.
What causes myelin to swell?
In autoimmune diseases, the immune system mistakes the body’s own tissue as foreign, and attacks it , causing inflammation (swelling) that results in damage to the myelin. An infection precedes the onset of transverse myelitis about 50% of the time.
Can transverse myelitis be a symptom of MS?
Transverse myelitis can appear as the first symptom in conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or neuromyelitis optica (NMO). A person with transverse myelitis who also has an abnormal brain MRI with more than two lesions has an increased chance (as high as 90 percent) of going on to develop MS.
What is transverse myelitis?
Transverse myelitis is a neurological condition that happens when both sides of the same section of the spinal cord become inflamed. This inflammation can damage myelin, the fatty substance that covers your nerves. Loss of myelin often leads to spinal cord scarring that blocks nerve impulses and results in physical problems.
How is transverse myelitis diagnosed?
One test you might need is a CT or MRI scan.
What test is done to rule out transverse myelitis?
Blood tests and a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) may also be done to rule out other causes for transverse myelitis.
Can transverse myelitis be treated with physical therapy?
Some people who get transverse myelitis are left with permanent physical disabilities, such as muscle stiffness, loss of bowel or bladder function, muscle weakness, or even paralysis. If you have any of these impairments, physical therapy will likely be a very important part of your treatment. In this treatment, specialists will work with you to maintain or increase your strength, improve your coordination, and help you gain more control over bladder and bowel functions.
Can steroids help with transverse myelitis?
Treatment with steroids or other drugs doesn't cure transverse myelitis, but it might relieve symptoms.
