Arthritis Awareness and Long-Term Disability Claims

There are numerous conditions that can render a person unable to work either on a short term or long term basis. One of these conditions is arthritis; a condition that causes inflammation of the muscles and joints. Arthritis and the pain caused by it can make it difficult fir a person to perform their essential work duties as well as everyday activities.

What is arthritis?

According to the Arthritis Society, arthritis is a group of over 100 different conditions that cause inflammation in the joints or other areas, like muscles. Some of the conditions that are under the arthritis umbrella include lupus, fibromyalgia, tendonitis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Arthro actually means joint, while itis is inflammation. It can affect any area of the body, but the most common are the knees, wrists, hip and spine. There is no known cure for arthritis and it can occur at any age, regardless of physical health.

Types of arthritis

There are 2 types of arthritis, although they are broad:

Osteoarthritis (OA)

This is the most common type of arthritis affecting Canadians. Osteoarthritis is joint damage that is irreparable and can be triggered by a number of things. Deterioration due to aging is one of these reasons, as is the body’s response to an injury. The cartilage breaks down, resulting in bone-on-bone contact, causing a person with OA to experience stiffness, swelling and pain.

Factors that can contribute to the development of osteoarthritis include age, obesity and occupation, as well as injuries caused by slip and falls and car accidents.

Inflammatory arthritis (IA)

With inflammatory arthritis, the damage of the joint is caused by inflammation rather than the wearing away of the cartilage. It’s considered an autoimmune disease, as the body mistakenly starts to attack it’s own healthy tissue. This can then result on pain, stiffness, fatigue and restricted mobility, as well as damage to joints and other tissue.



Basically every form of arthritis other than osteoarthritis is classified as IA. These include things like lupus, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis, amongst others.

Facts about arthritis

According to the Arthritis Society of Canada’s fact sheet, 6 million people in Canada are living with arthritis. That’s 1 in 5 people.



Here are a few facts about arthritis: 

• People wth arthritis are four times as likely to feel that their overall health isn’t good.
• Arthritis in on the rise and they estimate that by 2040 there will be 9 million Canadians that suffer from it.
• People with arthritis are two times more likely to have mental health issues as a result of the it.
• For 40% of Canadians with arthritis, pain is bad enough that it limits their activities, which includes being able to work.
• Canadians with arthritis are 5 times more likely to have mobility problems, causing struggles in their daily life.

What are the challenges that arthritis brings?

Arthritis symptoms are joint pain, stiffness and swelling which can result in significant disability and poor quality of life, according to the Arthritis Society. Things such as doing housework and running errands is difficult, as is working. In fact, people with arthritis are less likely to be in the labour force. This is substantiated by the fact that arthritis, between healthcare costs and costs from lost productivity, has an economic impact of $33 billion yearly.

Additionally, a person with arthritis is up to 1.5 times more likely to be hospitalized, require multiple primary care visits, visit a specialist or require physiotherapy or rehabilitation compared to an individual with another chronic condition and this number changes to 2-3 times more likely if a comparison is being made to a person without chronic illness.

Arthritis can also significantly impact a person’s ability to perform their household activities.

If you have had to stop working as a result of arthritis, and have applied for short-term and/or long-term disability benefits, and your benefits have been denied, contact the lawyers at Aaron Waxman and Associates for a free legal consultation. It is important that you become aware of your rights and your options as soon as possible.

What if my disability benefits were denied?

If you have had to stop working as a result of arthritis, and your disability benefits have been denied or have stopped, it’s important to seek legal advice as soon as possible. The lawyers at Aaron Waxman and Associates offer a free consultation, and can help you become aware of your rights and your options with respect to a denial of benefits.