Factory work often requires constant use of your hands. You may spend much of your shift gripping tools, moving parts or making the same hand motion again and again. If arthritis, nerve damage or another condition affects your grip or finger control, you may have trouble doing work you handled for years.
That problem can be a factor in your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claim. The Social Security Administration (SSA) considers what you can still do despite your health limits. It records those abilities in your residual functional capacity (RFC), which describes the work you can still perform.
How SSA looks at your past work
One part of the SSDI review asks whether you can still do past relevant work. SSA compares your current abilities with what that job required from you. It may look at how you actually did the job or how workers usually perform it.
Your hand use can make a difference in that review. For example, your factory job might have required frequent gripping or precise finger movements. If medical records show that you now struggle with those tasks, SSA takes those limits into account when deciding if you can still perform that work.
What SSA looks at next
If you cannot return to past relevant work, SSA looks at other jobs you may still be able to perform. It also considers your age, education and work history.
Limits on gripping, reaching or finger use may reduce the types of jobs you can do. SSA guidance recognizes that serious hand limits can rule out many kinds of work. How much they affect your claim depends on what your hands can still do during a normal workday.
Clarify what your job required
Details about your past job give SSA useful context. You may want to review whether your work history explains how often you used tools or made repeated hand movements. Medical records that describe your hand limits can also support the restrictions listed in your benefits application.