Osteoarthritis is a common joint condition that causes pain and stiffness in the joints. It often affects the hands, knees, hips and spine. While osteoarthritis is not considered a disability in itself, it can cause significant mobility issues and impact a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. This has led to debate around whether osteoarthritis should be classed as a disability.
What is osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease where the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones gradually wears away over time. This causes pain, swelling and problems moving the joint. Bony spurs or extra bone may also form around the joint.
Osteoarthritis often affects the hands, feet, spine, hips and knees – the joints that get the most use. It develops slowly over years and is caused by a combination of factors including age, joint injury, obesity, genetics and muscle weakness.
There is no cure for osteoarthritis. Treatment aims to relieve symptoms and improve joint mobility. This may involve pain medications, exercise, weight loss, devices to support joints like knee braces, and sometimes surgery.
How does osteoarthritis impact daily living?
While the severity can vary, osteoarthritis often significantly impacts a person’s quality of life and ability to perform everyday tasks.
Common effects of osteoarthritis include:
- Joint pain, stiffness and swelling that makes movement difficult
- Reduced flexibility and range of motion in the joint
- Joint instability or feeling like the joint will “give out”
- Muscle weakness around the joint
- Difficulty doing daily activities like household chores, self-care, work and exercise
- Disturbed sleep due to joint pain at night
- Increased risk of depression and social isolation due to mobility limitations
Osteoarthritis in weight-bearing joints like the hips and knees can make walking difficult or painful. Hand osteoarthritis may affect a person’s ability to grip objects, turn doorknobs or open jars. Spinal osteoarthritis can make bending and lifting challenging.
Is osteoarthritis considered a disability?
Osteoarthritis itself is not considered a disability. A disability is defined as a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses or daily activities.
However, the symptoms and joint damage caused by osteoarthritis can potentially meet the criteria for being disabled if they substantially impact a person’s quality of life and ability to function.
Disability criteria
In many countries, to be considered disabled you must have:
- An impairment that severely limits important activities like walking, lifting or self-care
- The impairment must have lasted or be expected to last 12+ months
- The impairment must substantially limit the ability to do the activities compared to most people
Arthritis leading to major joint deformity and very limited mobility would likely meet these disability criteria. Milder osteoarthritis may not.
Assessing disability
Doctors conduct physical exams and questionaires to evaluate how much osteoarthritis is impacting major life activities. This helps determine if it qualifies as a disability.
Factors assessed include:
- Which joints are affected and severity of damage
- Range of motion and joint function
- Ability to walk distances or navigate stairs
- Dexterity and grip strength for tasks
- Ability to sit, stand, lift, carry, bend, kneel, reach etc
- Pain levels and need for medications
- Use of assistive devices like canes or walkers
- Work limitations and lost time
- Impact on self-care, household duties, hobbies, social life
They also consider treatment efforts like medications, therapy, braces or surgery and response to treatment.
Scoring disability level
A scoring system is often used to rate the severity of disability. Two common ones are:
- Steinbrocker functional classification – Scores osteoarthritis disability from Class I (mild) to Class IV (severe inability to perform any self-care)
- HAQ Disability Index – Scores ability to do 20 daily activities on a 0 (no difficulty) to 3 (unable to do) scale
Higher scores indicate more severe disability that may meet the criteria for being considered disabled.
Legal considerations
Disability rights laws
Having a doctor confirm osteoarthritis disability may provide protection and benefits under disability rights laws such as:
- Requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations at work
- Protecting from disability discrimination in employment, housing, education etc
- Qualifying for disability parking permits and other government disability services
- Potentially qualifying for disability insurance benefits
Social Security disability benefits
To qualify for US Social Security disability benefits, your arthritis must:
- Meet the basic disability criteria
- Be severe enough that you cannot work at your current job or adjust to other work
Benefits are also based on your work history and duration of disability. Many osteoarthritis applicants get rejected initially and have to appeal.
Conclusion
Osteoarthritis itself does not count as a disability. But in cases where it severely impacts function and quality of life, it can potentially be considered a disabled condition. Doctors perform impairment evaluations to determine if arthritis meets the criteria.
Being classed as disabled due to osteoarthritis provides certain legal protections and benefits. However, the disability status must be clearly supported by medical evidence and assessed on a case-by-case basis.