Are Recliners Bad For Your Back – How Does It Work

In this article, we’ll dispel the fallacy that recliners are bad for your back and explain how, when used correctly, these chairs can be incredibly supportive and comfortable.

Because they are cozy, adaptable, and can be a beautiful addition to any room’s decor, recliners are a common type of furniture in homes. A lot of people appreciate being able to recline in these plush seats after a long day at work or while they watch their preferred program. A growing number of people are worried that these expensive chairs may actually make back pain worse, defeating the purpose of relaxation.

Are Recliner Chairs Bad for Your Back?

Back pain is worse when you slouch or hunch over, but standing up straight can help. However, lying down does not hurt back pain. In fact, studies show that sitting in a reclined position is healthier for your back than sitting upright.

Of course, it comes down to trial and error for each individual. It’s great if you find that lying down helps your back pain because you can do something about it. Instead of attempting to recline with cushions and pillows, a rise and recline chair is more practical. To find the ideal position that is specific to you and benefits your particular circumstances, think about using a rise and recline chair for your back pain.

Similarly, if you find that changing your sitting position more frequently helps alleviate your back pain, a chair that is adjustable can make life a lot easier. By simply pressing a button, you can easily recline into various positions and lift your feet. Additionally, there is a button for standing up when you’re ready.

Elevating your legs has numerous additional advantages, and some people with back pain may find that doing so also relieves their symptoms. One device that can help with this is a footstool. A chair with an adjustable height that raises your legs for you is another choice.

Do Recliners Cause Back Pain?

Most people lead busy, demanding lives where everything they do requires some level of effort—either mental or physical—to complete. It can be difficult to determine whether the pain you’re feeling is due to daily life or your favorite chair that you sit in for hours on end. This, along with the lovely process of aging, can cause daily aches and pains, especially in your back.

Since recliners are typically ergonomically created for user comfort, back pain is rarely brought on by them. Instead, recliners are strongly advised to enhance posture, increase back support, and lessen pain.

Recliners are useful as a piece of furniture and are good for your back, and this has even been proven by science. Nevertheless, if the user is not sitting in these chairs properly or if the chair does not fit their physical make-up and size, it is possible that they will cause physical harm.

How Recliners Can Be Good for Your Back

You’ve probably considered getting a recliner if you have a desk job that requires you to sit for hours on end or if you enjoy relaxing in a big, comfortable chair at home (and if you haven’t, you should). Due to their clever design, these chairs have been shown to provide users with numerous advantages.

Most importantly, recliners are good for your back because they assist in lumbar support, enhance sitting posture, and allow the user to consistently recline rather than sit upright.

Benefits of Reclining

Recliners, as their name suggests, are made to recline backward, allowing users to essentially lay down while seated. Recliners are among the best chair types you can use in your daily life for this feature alone.

Reclining is the most comfortable position for sitting, especially for long periods of time, according to scientists. While sitting straight and with good posture is ideal, most people find it challenging to maintain the position for an extended period of time because they are so accustomed to slouching. This is partly caused by a lifetime of slouching, which leaves weak back muscles that can’t maintain a pin-straight position.

The best biomechanical sitting position for comfort and posture, according to researchers, is to recline at a 135-degree angle. However, you should actively train your body to have better posture.

This enables your body to recline just enough to provide adequate support and a straight spine while remaining upright enough to work at a desk, watch television, engage in conversation, etc. Between fully sitting and fully laying down, it’s that comfortable medium.

Is Sitting Bad for Back Pain?

If you spend a lot of time sitting, sitting upright puts strain on your back, which could result in chronic pain issues. There is no shortage of advice emphasizing the value of staying active to preserve and enhance health, including back health.

But in many cases, we are powerless to change things. Some individuals simply have to sit for longer periods of time due to certain health conditions or mobility problems brought on by aging.

Even though sitting may be the only option, you can ensure that you’re comfortable while doing your best to avoid staying in one position for an extended period of time.

How Do I Know If My Chair is Bad for Lumbar Support?

It’s critical to get this right because lower back pain-related postural changes have an impact on the muscles that regulate posture in the first place. The process of exercising is simple. Your chair is probably not providing adequate lumbar support if you catch yourself hunching over or stooping when you sit. Look for a seating option with better lumbar support if you discover that your back pain gets worse when you’re sitting down.

How to Choose a Chair for Lumbar Support?

It is possible to have rise and recline chairs made to order. As a result, you can have a chair that is the right width, depth, and height for your body measurements, potentially reducing stress on your back and other body parts. There are various back styles to choose from, and some are created specifically to provide the person’s lower, mid, or upper back with additional support.

Consider a chair with internal cushions that can be adjusted to help keep you centered if leaning to one side and back pain are problems.

Versus Arthritis advises people with back pain to regularly adjust their posture in addition to sitting with good posture. A rise and recline chair’s advantages in this situation become clear due to how simple it is to adjust the chair’s position.

Naturally, certain rise and recline chairs provide more lumbar support than others. Therefore, be sure to emphasize and concentrate on your specific needs when looking into the best reclining chair for back pain. When looking for the best reclining chair for your needs, it’s crucial to work with a reputable furniture company that is aware of health problems and potential solutions.

What is the Ideal Reclining Angle When Sitting?

We are aware that back pain can develop from prolonged upright sitting. Reclining can help with back pain, which is good news.

According to some experts, off-loading sitting posture can help people with back pain whose jobs require them to sit for long periods of time. Offloading involves sitting with the back of the seat 20 degrees farther back than the front.

The optimal sitting posture, according to another research team, is 135 degrees body-thigh angle. When you do this, keep your feet flat on the floor and lean back 135 degrees.

Enjoy experimenting with various reclining positions. Make a note of the approximate angle when you find comfort so you can recreate it later. Living with back pain can make you feel depressed, but the way you sit can make a significant difference. Your general quality of life ought to increase as soon as your pain levels do.

How Recliners Can Harm Your Back

Despite what we’ve said here, there are probably still a few people who have vowed never to sit in a recliner again because they genuinely thought the chair was to blame for their back pain. While this may be the case, we contend that the chair itself is not necessarily at fault due to the likelihood that it was mishandled.

Back pain from a recliner is typically brought on by inadequate support, improper posture, or excessive use of the chair.

Let’s go over each of these in more detail so you can fix your uncomfortable recliner if you encounter any of these problems yourself.

Ill-Fitting Lumbar Support

The support point will be our first point of focus. For the purpose of providing the essential lumbar support, nearly all recliners are made with additional cushions or padding where your lower back should be. Nevertheless, not all recliners are created equal, just as not all human bodies are. You should always try a recliner out before buying one!

Spend two minutes sitting in the chair to determine whether it offers the support you require and fits your body type. The lumbar support may be too high or not extend high enough for you. This won’t work for you, so over time it will give you back pain. Despite the fact that doing this makes online recliner shopping more difficult, it is necessary if you want one that won’t make you uncomfortable.

Sitting at the Wrong Angle

As we previously mentioned, it’s best to recline at an angle of 135 degrees to sit correctly. If you spend hours sitting perfectly straight in a fully reclined chair and constantly crane your neck to look in front of you, you are essentially contributing to your own pain by sitting incorrectly.

Overuse of the Chair

It’s never a good idea to have too much of a good thing. Recliners are undoubtedly cozy, and when used correctly, they can improve your posture and back support. However, that doesn’t mean you should spend more than eight hours a day sitting in one.

Your body will become fatigued if you sit and recline all the time. If you have a desk job, make an effort to take breaks and get some fresh air rather than sitting in your office recliner all day. You can also consider getting a standing desk that can convert to a sitting position.

Another point we’d like to make here is that no matter how comfortable your recliner is, it is not a bed! Please don’t make it a habit to sleep here because doing so will undoubtedly cause severe pain and soreness and impair your overall quality of sleep.

Are Recliner Chairs Good for Your Legs?

If you enjoy nothing more than stretching out on your recliner chair at the end of a long day at work, you might be wondering whether or not it’s good for your legs and lower body in general. In general, your reclining chair won’t likely endanger your legs if you only use it occasionally and only sit in it for brief periods of time each day—especially if you are an active person in any case.

However, if you discover that you frequently spend extended periods of time in your recliner, whether it be for sleeping or just to catch up on your favorite television shows, then this is where issues may start to emerge. Since our bodies are built to move, spending hours on end sitting or lying in a recliner can lead to a variety of health problems, including back pain, tension, and a general sense of sluggishness.

Long periods of time spent reclining, however, can be particularly harmful to the lower leg region. Deep vein thrombosis, which is quite often linked to long-haul flights where long periods of inactivity are difficult to avoid, is a risk when you are confined to a recliner chair for many hours (such as throughout the night while you sleep).

Try to ensure that you get up frequently to move around and get the blood flowing because, at the very least, sitting in a recliner chair for an extended period of time can cause aching in the calf muscles and feet.

Are Recliners Good for Arthritis?

We’re confident that if you or someone you know experiences arthritis pain, you are already aware of how simple daily activities (like eating and relaxing) can become challenging and uncomfortable. But buying a chair that is both comfortable and practical to use is one of the best ways to guarantee that discomfort is kept to a minimum when relaxing and chilling out.

This is why arthritis sufferers find recliner chairs to be so useful and beneficial. For people with arthritis, recliners are generally thought to be excellent chairs because they let them sit and recline in a variety of positions without having to actually get up and move from the chair.

In addition, one of the best features of recliner chairs is their ability to assist you in relaxing into the seat before you have even fully sat down, making it simple to get into and out of the chair. You can even purchase a recliner chair that can “rise” at the touch of a button, which will offer further assistance to people who struggle with mobility caused by arthritis.

Is a Recliner Good for a Herniated Disc?

One of the most common causes of back pain is a herniated disc, also known as a slipped disc. A slipped disc happens when the soft tissue cushion that lies directly between the spine’s bones starts to bulge outward. One of the main signs of a slipped disc is pain brought on by pressure placed on the nearby nerves, though symptoms are not always present.

Other symptoms include neck pain, numbness (or even tingling) in the shoulders, back, arms, or even legs, weakness in the muscles, and occasionally sciatica, which can develop if the disc is pressing on the sciatic nerve.

Make sure to get a recliner chair with lumbar support if you have one or want to buy one to help with pain. This is due to the fact that many recliner chairs on the market do not have this feature, which can actually make your herniated disc or lower back pain worse than it already is.

When looking for a recliner chair suitable for a herniated disc condition, the best features to look out for are extra padding across the lumbar region (lower back) and high quality foam padding that can relieve any aches and pains.

On the other hand, if you already have a recliner chair and discover that it doesn’t help to keep your lower back supported, you can try some other options to see if you can get the lower back support you need to support your herniated disc.

The best course of action is to either buy a long pillow that can span the base of the seating area of your recliner, or do neither. While you sit in it, this will support your lower back and encourage your spine to maintain proper alignment. However, you could also take a towel and roll it up to achieve the same result if you don’t want to spend money on a pillow.

Why Do My Feet Hurt After Sitting in a Recliner?

When seated in a recliner chair, especially if you’re laying down on it, your feet should hang over the footrest area or end of the chair. All lift chairs were made with the user’s feet hanging over the end of the footrest in mind because doing so helps to distribute weight evenly across the lower body.

Due to the chair’s reclining design, if your feet were to be placed directly on top of the footrest, it would put undue strain on the heels and backs of your legs, which would cause the muscles in your lower back and legs to become very uncomfortable and strained after a very short time.

Your feet should be firmly planted on the ground if you are seated upright in your recliner chair. However, if you are seated in a reclined position with the footrest extended, your heels should be hanging directly over the footrest because this will allow your body weight to be evenly distributed across your entire lower body rather than just your feet.

It is most likely because you are not sitting in the proper position that you are currently feeling pain in your feet from relaxing in a recliner chair. In order to avoid aches and pains in both your lower legs and feet, it is crucial to make sure that your legs and feet are positioned properly, regardless of the position you are in. Your lower legs and feet will be completely relaxed if your feet are positioned correctly, and you shouldn’t feel any pain or strain anymore.

Will a Recliner Help Back Pain?

For people with back pain, a recliner chair can provide support. Chronic back pain and even hunching can result from sitting at a 90-degree angle in a regular chair or couch. On the other hand, reclining can help to relieve pressure on the spine by lowering pressure.

In addition, if you frequently experience back pain, it might be worthwhile to consider a recliner chair that has been created specifically to help reduce back pain symptoms. You can move into various positions without putting too much strain on your back thanks to the adjustable powerhead tilt found in many high-quality recliners currently on the market.

We also advise choosing a reclining chair with lumbar support features to help support your lower back; however, if you already own a reclining chair without lumbar support, you can fix the issue by putting pillows behind your back.

Final Thoughts

Most of the time, recliners are great chairs to use if your comfort and posture are important to you or if you’re trying to avoid or lessen any back, neck, or shoulder pain. You shouldn’t have any trouble relaxing in these chairs for a long time as long as you use them correctly and that they have lumbar support that fits your body. Always recline carefully because using these chairs improperly or excessively can cause serious health problems over time.

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