this was written by a orthopedic ssa dr requested by an alj : he is able to get off the exam table with difficulty by himself. there is decreased range of motion of the cervical spine. he can fully flex his cervical spine to 50 degrees, 0 degrees of extension, 30 degrees of lateral flexion and 50 degrees of rotation, more to the left than the right. there is moderate tenderness to palpation of the cervical spine and the trapezius muscles bilaterally. there is full range of motion of all joints in all four extremities except for his shoulders that he can only raise to 90 degrees due to the pain from his neck. grip strength is decreased and equal bilaterally (3/5) due to pain in his hands from his neck. there are decreased fine motor and gross motor skills in both hands, again due to pain from his neck. he has a tremor in both hands, worse on the right than the left. the patient can flex at the waist to 20 degrees, extend 3 degrees and laterally flex 5 degrees. there is moderate tenderness to palpation of the lumbar spine. straight leg raises are positive bilaterally, at 5 degrees on the right and 10 degrees on the left. the patient is able to walk across the room with a rolling walker with a very antalgic gait. the patient cannot walk on his toes and heels. he cannot do tandem walking. he cannot squat down.

limitations of adl's and work activities: he has severe pain in his neck and lumbar spine with radiation into his extremities. he walks with a rolling walker.

diagnosis: herniated lumbar disc, probable herniated cervical disc, morbid obesity, ptsd, hypertension, gerd

can anyone give me there input on this report written by the ssa dr that was given to the alj.

I'm not a doctor but this report looks bittersweet. Bad for you since you have all these issues but on the other hand looks good for disbility purposes. That is if i'm correct on that assumption your going for social security disability.

Jay

According to the listing level of impairments for the spine, you meet and exceed t he criteria by using the walker. ALso Morbid obesity is a disabling condition and must be considered.

This was a favorable exam and the Doc did a good job. You should have no problem.

J

the alj sent a letter out on the 11th of june stating that he was putting this ce exam report into evidence. he also stated that he was given my lawyer (10 days ) from the date of this letter to turn in any more additonal evidence he wanted to consider in this case or i will then issue my decision. friday the 19th of june my lawyer called odar and told them we didn't have any additonal evidence to turn so procede with the case. so how long do you think it take the alj to make a decision on my case.

alj hearing march 27, 2009
ce exam june 10, 2009
10day deadline june 21, 2009

How long?

I'd say, according to how busy he is........whether his clerk is back from their summer vacation....according to whether HE is back from his summer vacation.....according to whether whatever.

He could, foreseeably, do it on the 22nd.

Who can tell how long but Social Security moves a lot faster than VA.

Good Luck

My guess less than 4 weeks

i called social security today and they me a decision was made on my case but the judge hasn't signed off on it yet. she said it will be a week or so before a get something in the mail about a decision. has anyone been through this before after going through a hearing before a alj.