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MS (multiple sclerosis) is a chronic, potentially disabling disease of your central nervous system. Your central nervous system is composed of your spinal cord and brain.

Researchers believe that MS is an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases are those in which your immune system for some unknown reason attacks the cells and tissues of your own body as if they were something foreign that is invading your body

In the case of MS, your autoimmune system mistakenly sends white blood cells and antibodies to attack the proteins in your myelin sheath. Your myelin sheath is a fatty substance that insulates nerve fibers in your spinal cord and brain. This results in inflammation and injury to your myelin sheath and ultimately to your nerves that your myelin sheath surrounds. This, in turn, may cause multiple areas of sclerosis (scarring). Eventually, this damage can slow or block your nerve signals that control your vision, muscle coordination, strength and sensation.

An estimated 300,000 people have MS in the United States and probably more than 1 million people around the world. Women are twice as likely as men to develop MS. Most people experience their first signs and symptoms between the ages of 20 and 40.

As stated earlier, MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease. Your autoimmune system mistakenly destroys the cells that make your myelin sheath. However, researchers do not know why your body’s immune system reacts like this.

Genetic factors may play a role in causing MS. Researchers also believe that a virus like a cold or flu may trigger episodes of your MS.

MS varies in severity and is unpredictable. MS can range anywhere from being relatively benign and mild, to a little disabling, to devastating with permanent disability.

The signs and symptoms that are produced by MS vary widely. They depend on where the nerve fibers are that are affected by the disease. Some of the signs and symptoms that you may experience are:

• Dizziness
• Blurring of your vision or double vision
• Fatigue
• Pain or tingling in parts of your body
• Partial or complete loss of vision
• Electric-shock sensations that happen when you make certain head movements
• Numbness or weakness in one or more of your limbs
• An unsteady gait in your walking
• Tremor or lack of coordination.

Ataxia is usually a sign or symptom of coordination problems, such as unsteadiness or awkward or clumsy movements. Ataxia is present in many different diseases and conditions.

The ataxia in hereditary spinal ataxia results from the degeneration of nerve tissue in your spinal cord. In particular, this is your sensory neurons that are required (through connections with your cerebellum) for directing muscle movement of your legs and arms. Hereditary spinal ataxia causes your spinal cord to become thinner and nerve cells lose some of their myelin sheath (the insular covering on some nerve cells that helps conduct nerve impulses).

Hereditary spinal ataxia affects around 1 in 50,000 people in the United States. This disease affects men and women equally.

As mentioned earlier, hereditary spinal ataxia is an inherited disease. It results from an abnormality in one of your genes, called X25, located in the ninth chromosome pair. The pattern of inheritance is what is known as autosomal recessive. What this means is that hereditary spinal ataxia can only occur when you inherit the defective (faulty) gene from both of your parents. If you get a defective gene from only one of your parents, you become a carrier of the disease.

The signs and symptoms of hereditary spinal ataxia usually start between the ages of 5 and 15. However, with late onset of the disease, signs and symptoms may begin in your 20s or 30s.

There are several signs and symptoms that you may have with hereditary spinal ataxia. Some of these include:

• Your feet becoming deformed and rigid
• Muscle weakness in your arms and legs
• Diabetes
• Paralysis of a lower limb
• Hearing loss
• Curvature of your spine
• Vision impairment
• Heart disorders
• Slurred speech
• Problems swallowing
• Trembling when you are standing still
• Progressive weakness of your legs that may appear as a staggering, lurching gait when you are walking
• Clumsiness
• Partial loss of your sensitivity to pain and temperature or your sense of touch
• Loss of coordination.

You or a loved one may be afflicted with hereditary spinal ataxia. Hereditary spinal ataxia and/or complications that have been caused by it or other disorders that you have besides this disease may have led to you or your loved one’s disability and inability to work.

You may need assistance if this is your situation. You may need financial help.

You or your loved one may be intending to apply for the financial assistance that you need from the Social Security Administration by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability that has been caused by hereditary spinal ataxia and/or complications that have resulted from it or other disorders that you have besides this disease. You may have already tried this option, and your claim was turned down by the Social Security Administration.

If you or your loved one is planning on reapplying or appealing the denial, here is an important fact that you really need to keep in mind that you may not know about. The fact of the matter is that people who are represented by a disability attorney like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com are approved more often than people who do not have a disability lawyer standing with them.

Please do not delay or wait until tomorrow. This is a matter of great importance to you or your loved one. Contact the disability attorney at socialsecurityhome.com, today.

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Neuropathy is a medical term that is used for diseases or malfunctions that affect your peripheral nervous system. The term is usually used to mean the same thing as peripheral neuropathy.

Your peripheral nervous system is a vast communications network that transfers information from your brain and spinal cord (your central nervous system) to all of the other parts of your body. It also sends sensory information back to your brain and spinal cord. These are messages like your hand is burned or your foot is cold.

There are more than 100 types of peripheral neuropathy that have been identified. Each one of these forms of the disorder has its own characteristic pattern of development, set of signs and symptoms and prognosis.

Brachial plexus neuropathy is one of the forms of peripheral neuropathy. It involves your brachial plexus. This is a bundle of nerves that are linked with your arm and shoulder.

Brachial plexus neuropathy is marked by the attack of intense pain in your shoulder and upper arm. This is followed by regional weakness.

Fortunately, brachial plexus neuropathy is not a common disorder. It is sometimes misdiagnosed as a problem that originates in your cervical spine.

Even though the specific causes of brachial plexus neuropathy are not known, there are several factors that may play a role in the development of this disorder. Some of these are:

• Stretching injuries
• Excessive exposure to toxins and radiations
• Parasitic infestation
• Inflammation
• Tumors that press on your nerves
• Trauma to brachial plexus area
• Certain medications
• Congenital (present at birth) abnormalities
• Viral infections, especially those of the upper respiratory tract
• Systemic illness like temporal arteritis or polyarteritis nodosa
• Some vaccinations
• Bacterial infection like typhoid or pneumonia.

The hallmark sign or symptom of brachial plexus neuropathy is the onset of intense pain in your upper arm and shoulder, although the level of pain may vary from person to person and with the severity of the disorder. Other possible signs and symptoms include:

• Regional muscle weakness
• Abnormal sensations like burning or tingling
• Numbness in your hand, arm or shoulder
• Horner syndrome (affects the nerves of your face and eye)
• An inability to raise or extend your hand or wrist

You or a loved one may have brachial plexus neuropathy. Brachial plexus neuropathy  and/or complications that have occurred from it or other conditions that you have in addition to this disorder may have brought about the disability of you or your loved one and be the reason why you are not able to work.

As a result of this, you may need assistance. You may need financial help.

You or your loved one may be thinking about applying for the financial assistance that you need from the Social Security Administration by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability that has been caused by brachial plexus neuropathy and/or complications that have been brought about by it or other conditions that you have in addition to this disorder. You may have already done this and been turned down by the Social Security Administration.

If you or your loved one is considering reapplying or appealing the denial, keep this vital fact in mind that you may not be aware of. The simple truth is that people who are represented by a disability attorney like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com are approved more often than people who do not have a disability lawyer fighting for them.

Please do not hesitate or wait until tomorrow. This is far too important to you or your loved one. Contact the disability attorney at socialsecurityhome.com, today.

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Back problems are some of humanity’s most frequent complaints. Back pain and back problems are the fifth most common reason for all doctor visits in the United States.  Somewhere between 80 and 90% of all adult Americans have back problems at some point in their life. It is estimated that five out of ten working adults in the United States have back pain every year.

Your human spine (or backbone) is made up of small bones called vertebrae. Your vertebrae are stacked on top of each other to form a column. Between each vertebra is a cushion known as a disc. Ligaments hold the vertebrae together, and bands of tissue called tendons attach muscles to the vertebrae.

Openings in each vertebra line up so as to form a long hollow canal. Your spinal cord runs through this canal from the base of your brain. Nerves from your spinal cord branch out and leave your spine through the spaces between the vertebrae.

There are many different kinds of back problems that you can have with all of the vertebrae, ligaments, tendons, discs and muscles in your back. There are also extremely serious problems that can happen with your spinal cord. Some of the back problems you can have are:

§  Degenerative Disc Disease

§  Herniated discs

§  Kyphosis

§  Sciatica

§  Scoliosis

§  Spinal Stenosis

§  Spondylosis

§  Spondylolisthesis

§  Whiplash

§  Back pain.

It is important to remember that back problems are not your disorder. Back problems are an indication of an underlying condition.

Some of the ways that you may be affected by back problems are continuing stiffness or aching anywhere along your spine, from your hips to your neck. It can be chronic aching in your middle or lower back, especially after standing or sitting for extended periods of time. You may have sharp, localized pain in your lower back, upper back or neck, especially after doing strenuous activity or lifting heavy objects.

When the pain goes downward along the back of your leg or is accompanied by fever, this is an indication that your back problems may be caused by a serious underlying condition. Other indications are tingling, numbness or loss of control in your arms or legs, dull pain in one area of your spine when getting out of or lying in bed, or the pain increases when you cough or bend forward at the waist.

Back problems and/or the underlying cause of them may prevent you from working. They may be the cause of your disability.

Do you need help? Do you need financial assistance?

Have you applied for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration? Were you denied?

If you are going to appeal the denial, consider this. People who have a dependable disability attorney representing them like the one at socialsecurityhome.com are approved more often than those without a lawyer.

Do not delay. Contact the caring disability attorney at socialsecurityhome.com, today.

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Your spine is a complex and unique part of your body. It is made up of muscles, ligaments, tendons, living bone, joints, cartilaginous elements, nerve roots, a spinal cord and your vascular system.

Your spine has many important functions. It provides support and strength for the rest of your body. Your spine provides a method for distributing your weight. It allows your body to move in ways like rotating, leaning, stretching and bending. It also protects your spinal cord, delicate nerves and major organs. These are only some of the important functions of your spine.

A spinal tumor is a growth (mass of cells) that occurs within the bones of your spine or near your spinal cord. These tumors may be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

Usually, benign tumors are not a cause of major concern. However, this is not true in regard to your spine. A benign tumor of any type in your spine can press on your nerves, which may lead to neurological problems, pain and possibly paralysis.

About 55 to 65% of all spinal tumors are benign. This means that 35 to 45% are malignant (cancer). Each year, somewhere around 10,000 people in the United States develop either a primary (beginning in your spine) or metastatic (spreading from some other area of your body) spinal tumor.

There are various signs and symptoms that you may have with a spinal tumor. These depend on the kind and location of the tumor. The main sign or symptom of a spinal tumor is back pain that may radiate to your arms, legs, feet or hips. This pain may become worse at night and may become more severe as time passes even though you have treatment. Other signs and symptoms that you may experience include:

• Loss of bladder or bowel function
• Scoliosis or other spinal deformity that results from a large noncancerous tumor
• Muscle weakness or loss of sensation that happens especially in your legs
• A decreased sensitivity to heat, cold and pain
• Paralysis in different degrees that may develop in different areas of your body, depending on which nerves are being compressed
• Problems with walking that can lead to falls.

You or your loved one may have a spinal tumor. This disorder and/or complications resulting from it may be causing your disability and need for financial assistance.

You or your loved one may have applied for financial help from the Social Security Administration by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability caused by a spinal tumor and/or complications resulting from this disorder. Were you denied?

If you or your loved one appeals the denial by the Social Security Administration, remember this. People who have a disability lawyer like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com are approved more often than people who are not represented by a disability attorney.

Please do not hesitate. Contact the disability lawyer at socialsecurityhome.com, today.

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Your brachial plexus is a network of nerves that originate near your shoulder and neck. These nerves that start at your spinal cord in your neck control your elbow, wrist, hand and shoulder.

Your nerves can be compared to an electrical cable that is wrapped in insulation. They are the electrical wiring system that transmits messages from your brain to the rest of your body.

Sensory nerves take messages to your brain from different areas of your body that have to do with pressure, temperature and pain. Motor nerves transport messages from your brain to your muscles to enable your body to move. Your brachial plexus has both sensory and motor nerves.

Your brachial plexus is very fragile and can be injured by stretching, cutting or pressure. If the injury is bad enough, these nerves can actually tear out of their roots in your neck.

A brachial plexus injury stops the messages that are going to and from your brain. The result is that your hand, arm and shoulder do not work like they should. You also have a loss of feeling in the area that is being affected by the injured nerve.

There are several different ways in which a brachial plexus injury can occur. These injuries can result from a trauma like knife or bullet wounds, accidents involving a car, boat or motorcycle and animal bites. They can happen during contact sports like hockey, wrestling or football. A brachial plexus injury can also take place during birth when there is extended labor or breech.

The signs and symptoms that you experience with a brachial plexus injury can be widely different. This depends on the location and severity of your injury. Signs and symptoms that may be an indication of a brachial plexus injury include:

§  Pain that is severe

§  Having the ability to use your fingers but having little or no control of your elbow and shoulder muscles

§  Weakness and numbness in your arm

§  A total lack of feeling and movement in your arm

§  A feeling that is like a burning sensation or shock that goes shooting down your arm

§  Having the ability to use your arm but not your fingers.

You or a loved one may have a brachial plexus injury. This injury and/or complications resulting from or other conditions along with it may be why you are disabled and need help.

You or your loved one may be considering applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. You may have already done this and been denied.

If you or your loved one intends to appeal the denial by the Social Security Administration, remember this important fact. People who are represented by a disability attorney like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com are approved more often than people who do not have a disability lawyer.

Please do not wait. Contact the disability attorney at socialsecurityhome.com, today.

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Your brachial plexus consists of a network of nerves that start near your shoulder and neck. These nerves begin at your spinal cord in your neck. They control your hand, elbow, shoulder and wrist.

Your nerves are the electrical wiring system that transmits messages from your brain to all of the other parts of your body. Your nerves can be compared to an electrical cable that is wrapped in insulation.

Your motor nerves are the ones that carry messages from your brain to your muscles that permit your body to move. Your sensory nerves relay messages from different areas of your body to your brain. These are messages related to pressure, pain and temperature. Your brachial plexus contains both motor and sensory nerves.

Your brachial plexus is quite fragile. It can be hurt through cutting, pressure or stretching. These nerves can be torn out of their roots in your neck if the injury you sustain is bad enough.

Erb’s palsy is a paralysis of your arm that is caused by injury to the upper group of your arm’s main nerves. These nerves form part of your brachial plexus. The paralysis caused by Erb’s palsy may be partial or complete.

The most common cause of Erb’s palsy is a traumatic fall onto the side of your head and shoulder, which violently stretches the nerves of your plexus. The upper trunk of your plexus sustains the greatest injury. Other causes include direct violence, gunshot wounds, violent traction or efforts at reducing a dislocation of your shoulder joint.

There are signs and symptoms that may indicate that you have Erb’s palsy. Some of these include:

• Loss of sensation in your affected arm and paralysis
• Atrophy of your deltoid, biceps and brachialis muscles
• Your affected arm hanging by your side and being rotated medially
• The forearm of your affected arm being extended and pronated
• An inability to raise your affected arm from its side
• The power of flexion of your affected elbow is lost
• Supination of your affected elbow is also lost.

You or a loved one may be suffering from Erb’s palsy. Erb’s palsy and/or complications that have developed from it or other ailments that you have along with this palsy may have resulted in the disability of you or your loved one and be the reason why you are not able to work.

You may need assistance because of this. You may need financial help.

You or your loved one may be considering applying for the financial assistance that you need from the Social Security Administration by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability that has resulted from Erb’s palsy and/or complications that have been brought about by it or other ailments that you have along with this palsy. You may have already tried this option, and your claim was turned down by the Social Security Administration.

If you or your loved one has decided to reapply or appeal the denial, you really ought to consider this simple fact. The truth is that people who are represented by a disability lawyer like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com are approved more often than people who do not have a disability attorney in their corner.

Please do not delay or put this off until tomorrow. It is far too important to you or your loved one. Contact the disability lawyer at socialsecurityhome.com, today.

Arachnoiditis is neuropathic disease that is characterized by inflammation of your arachnoid. It is a chronic (long-term) disorder that is a devastating affliction of intractable pain. This is pain that is not relieved by ordinary nursing, medical or surgical measures. It is often persistent and chronic pain that can be psychogenic (originating in your mind) in nature.

Arachnoiditis is also marked by neurological deficits (coming from or pertaining to your nervous system). It is a disease that can be disabling.

There are several different forms of arachnoiditis. These include adhesive arachnoiditis, spinal arachnoiditis, proliferative granulomatous arachnoiditis and cysticercotic arachnoiditis.

Arachnoiditis can affect anyone in any age group, but it occurs most often in adults who are between the ages of 40 and 60. This disease affects men and women equally. Arachnoiditis is not a common disease, but it is growing worldwide because of an increasing number of immunocompromised people including intravenous drug abusers, diabetics, people with AIDS, alcoholics and chemotherapy and transplantation patients.

There are three primary causes of arachnoiditis. They are:

• Infection-induced arachnoiditis – This is when arachnoiditis is caused by certain infections that affect your spine like fungal and viral tuberculosis or meningitis.

• Chemically-induced arachnoiditis – This is arachnoiditis that is thought to be brought about by some of the dyes that are used in myelograms.

• Trauma/surgery-induced arachnoiditis – This is arachnoiditis that is a rare complication of spinal surgery.

There are many different possible signs and symptoms that may be an indication of arachnoiditis. Some of these include:

• Severe stinging, burning pain
• Paralysis
• Spasms, muscle cramps and uncontrollable muscle twitching
• Weakness, nausea and vomiting
• Visual disturbances or vision loss
• Headache or severe headache
• Numbness, tingling or weakness in your legs
• Bowel, bladder and/or sexual dysfunction
• Bizarre sensations like water trickling down your leg or insects crawling on your skin.

If arachnoiditis progresses, your signs and symptoms may become more severe and permanent.

You or a loved one may have arachnoiditis. Arachnoiditis and/or complications that have been caused by this disease may have resulted in your disability and inability to work.

Because of this, you may need assistance. You may need financial help.

You or your loved one may be thinking about applying for the financial assistance that you need from the Social Security Administration by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability caused by arachnoiditis and/or complications that have been caused by this disease. You or your loved one may have already done this and been denied by the Social Security Administration.

If you or your loved one has considered reapplying or appealing the denial, think about this. People who are represented by a disability attorney like the one you will find at Social Security Home are approved more often than people who do not have a disability lawyer fighting for them.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is sometimes called Lou Gehrig’s disease. Lou Gehrig was a Hall of Fame baseball player for the New York Yankees, who died of this disease in 1941.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a rapidly progressive, fatal neurological disease that attacks the neurons (nerve cells) that control voluntary muscles. The disease belongs to a group of illnesses known as motor neuron diseases. These diseases are evidenced by the gradual degeneration and death of motor neurons.

Motor neurons are nerve cells that are located in your brain, brainstem and spinal cord. They act as vital communication links and controlling units between the voluntary muscles of your body and your nervous system. Messages from motor neurons in your brain are transmitted to motor neurons in your spinal cord. From there the messages are sent to particular muscles.

With amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the motor neurons in your brain and spinal cord degenerate or die. They stop sending messages to your muscles. No longer able to function, your muscles gradually weaken, waste away and twitch. In time, the ability of your brain to start and control voluntary movement is lost.

Somewhere around 20,000 people in the United States have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Around 5,000 people are diagnosed with ALS each year in America. Men have this disease more often than women. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis usually happens between the ages of 40 and 60, but those older and younger can get the disease.

The first affects of ALS on you are subtle. Some of these are:

§  Cramping, stiffness or twitching of your muscles

§  Nasal or slurred speech

§  Muscle weakness affecting an arm or a leg

§  Difficulty swallowing or chewing.

The parts of your body that are affected by early signs and symptoms depend on which muscles in your body are damaged first. The first symptoms you may notice involve your leg, hand or arm, or speech problems. Regardless of what part of your body is affected first, muscle weakness and atrophy spread to other parts of your body as the disease progresses.

Eventually, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis paralyzes the muscles that are needed to breathe. Most people die from respiratory failure. This usually happens within three to five years after the signs and symptoms begin. However, around 10% of people with ALS live for 10 years or more.

Has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis reached a point where you are unable to work? Is ALS the cause of your disability?

Have you applied for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration and been denied? If you appeal the denial, keep this in mind.

You will need a proven disability lawyer like the one at Social Security Home to represent you in this process. This is true because people who have a trusted disability attorney are approved more often than those people who do not have a lawyer.

Syringomyelia is a rare disorder. Estimates on the number of people in the United States who are affected with this condition vary widely because it can occur in conjunction with other disorders. A conservative estimate is that around 40,000 Americans have syringomyelia.

Generally, there are two types of syringomyelia. The condition can be related to a congenital abnormality of your brain called Arnold Chiari malformation. This is named after the physician who first described it.

A syrinx may then develop in the cervical region of your spinal cord; this is referred to as communicating syringomyelia. Some people with this form of the disorder also have hydrocephalus (water on the brain), a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulates in your skull or arachnoiditis, in which a covering of your spinal cord is inflamed.

The second major form of syringomyelia occurs as a complication of hemorrhage, trauma, tumor or meningitis. In this case, the cyst or syrinx develops in a segment of your spinal cord damaged by one or more of these conditions. The syrinx may start to expand. If it does, it is sometimes referred to as noncommunicating syringomyelia.

A wide variety of signs and symptoms can be experienced with syringomyelia as the nerve fibers inside your spinal cord are damaged depending on the location and size of the syrinx. You may also have various combinations of different signs and symptoms. Some of the signs and symptoms that you may have are:

• Wasting and weakness of your upper arm muscles
• Difficulty walking
• Weakness of your legs
• Pain in your arms and neck
• Numbness and decreased sensitivity to heat, cold and pain in your hands, arms, shoulders and upper body
• Loss of bladder and bowel control
• Headaches
• Chronic pain.

Syringomyelia may have reached a point where you or a loved one is unable to work. This disorder may be the cause of your disability.

If this is true, you or your loved one may need help. You may need financial assistance.

Have you or your loved one applied for that financial assistance from the Social Security Administration by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability caused by syringomyelia? Were you or your loved one denied?

If you or your loved one is planning on appealing the denial by the Social Security Administration, keep this in mind. People who are represented by a skilled disability attorney like the one you will find at Social Security Home are approved more often than those people who are without a lawyer.