Every year on 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities promotes the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. This day raises awareness of the political, economic, health, social and cultural aspects in which disability affects people around the world.
Definition of Disability
Disability is a condition that broadly encompasses a person's impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. Although there are disabilities that are linked to well-defined symptoms or manifestations, there are also disabilities that are generically referred to as invisible, i.e. not visible to the eye. These disabilities are less well known, but nevertheless among the most frequent. They correspond to those limitations in life and participation in the community of people who suffer from functional and structural deficiencies in any of the cardiovascular, lymphatic, hematological, immunological, respiratory, digestive, metabolic, endocrine, and genitourinary systems.
Different Types of Disabilities
Based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF), disabilities are broadly classified into 5 groups that include:
- Physical Disability: Encompasses bodily impairments that hinder movement and/or motor skills, restricting activity and participation in everyday activities. Physical disability is, in turn, divided into functional and organic disabilities.
- Functional Disability: This refers to impairments that affect the functioning of the neuromuscular and/or skeletal system, and which hinder or limit movement.
- Organic Disability: Corresponds to that produced by the loss of functionality of some body systems, which are usually related to internal organs or physiological processes, whether congenital or acquired. This is the case of renal diseases (kidney), hepatic diseases (liver), cardiopathies (heart), cystic fibrosis (lungs), Crohn's disease and metabolic diseases (digestive system), peripheral venous diseases (venous system), lymphedema (lymphatic system), hemophilia (blood clotting), lupus (immune system); and headaches, migraines, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, sleep disorders, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome (central nervous system).
Other Types of Disability
- Sensory Disability
- Intellectual Disability
- Mental Disorder
- Intellectual Disability
- Multiple Disabilities (A condition that combines several types of disability).
In addition to invisibility, family, social and occupational misunderstanding, and lack of official recognition by Public Administrations, there are other problems in each of the different types of disabilities, which pose significant obstacles to everyday life and affect the quality of life.
REFERENCES:
Lipedema: Update in the management of lipedema
Lipedema: A Relatively Common Disease with Extremely Common Misconceptions
Lipedema, A hardly known disease: Diagnosis, associated illness, and therapy
Chronic Venous Insufficiency: Variants of functional venous disease
Lymphedema: Physiotherapeutic rehabilitation: state-of-the-art
Lymphedema: Medical compression therapy of the extremities
COCEMFE – The International Symbol of Organic Disability (DisOrganic)
COGAMI- Galician Confederation of Persons with Disabilities
(Click on the texts)
- WHAT KIND OF DOCTOR TREATS LYMPHEDEMA/LYMPHOEDEMA - WHICH MEDICAL SPECIALITIES ARE RELATED TO LYMPHEDEMA