My neighbor’s mother has been sitting in a chair for the last three weeks. Every so often she gets up and then sits back down in the chair. It’s slowly getting worse for her knees, but she doesn’t notice. She just sits there for hours at a time. We have thought that maybe the chair is broken, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Nor do we think that the chair is just uncomfortable, but again, that doesn’t seem to be the problem. Finally we realized that no one had thought about the problem of comfort for an elderly person with bodies that are slowly wearing out.
Recliner Chairs for the Elderly can help alleviate problems faced by people with arthritis, elderly people with compromised knees and people who are suffering from mobility problems. Most Recliner Chairs for the Elderly are designed with the elderly user’s mobility in mind and as such can provide great relief to those in need of assistance. However, it is easy to get carried away with the features of the recliner chairs for the elderly and overlook the main point of the recliner chairs, i.e. how will they affect the user’s mobility?
Seat height matters more than you’d think
Another crucial aspect of a recliner chair for the elderly is the seat height. If the seat is too low, then it will require a lot of effort to sit down and get up from the chair. This can require the assistance of a physiotherapist to teach you how to get up and down from the chair safely. On the other hand, if the seat is too high then your feet will be hovering in the air. This can cause problems with your circulation and you will look and feel very silly sitting on a barstool in a pub that you did not choose to go to.
Seat height is important. The average height for an older adult is between 45cm and 50cm. It is very important to test sit in a chair with your back straight and your hips at the same level as your knees. Place your feet flat on the floor in front of you. If your feet are not flat then the chair is wrong, no matter how great the upholstery looks.
Why “soft” is not the same as “supportive”
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Instead of looking for comfortable features in recliner chairs for the elderly you should be looking for the following features:
- Medium-density foam that holds its shape after repeated use
- Lumbar support that follows the natural curve of the lower spine, not just a flat back panel pretending to help
- A headrest that doesn’t shove the neck forward at an awkward angle
- Armrests positioned so elbows rest naturally without the shoulders creeping upward toward the ears
Most people believe that back pain occurs due to a variety of reasons including lack of sleep, getting older, and bad weather. The truth is that many people suffer from back pain caused by sitting in a chair for extended periods of time. In fact, many people suffer from back pain caused by sitting in a recliner chair. The back pain can occur over the course of weeks and can cause a nagging ache in the back of the person suffering from the back pain.
The lift mechanism: not a gimmick
I talked earlier about the lift mechanism of recliner chairs. The lift mechanism can tilt the seat forward of the recliner chair for the person to stand up from the chair. The lift mechanism is very good for people with arthritis, people who have compromised knees, and people who have problems with their balance. All of these types of people can find it very difficult to get up from a chair. But, with the lift mechanism of a recliner chair, it can make standing up from a chair a lot easier for them.
When shopping for recliner chairs for elderly people, it’s worth checking whether or not the chairs come equipped with a lift mechanism. Often, this will be provided as standard on certain models, so it’s worth checking with the retailer for more information.
Compare these recliner chair features before you buy!
| Feature | What to look for | Red flag |
| Seat height | 45–50cm, hips level with knees | Seat too low to stand from unaided |
| Cushioning | Medium-density foam, firm base | Sinks deeply under body weight |
| Lift mechanism | Smooth, full forward tilt | Jerky movement or limited tilt range |
| Controls | Large buttons, minimal pressure needed | Small remote, complicated menu |
| Room fit | Clearance behind chair for full recline | Chair jammed against a wall |
Controls: an underrated battleground
People with arthritis of the hands have difficulty grasping or holding onto small objects. People with tremors need to have precise control when operating objects. Why therefore would anyone want to operate a recliner with a small button which is located remotely from the seat? The solution is to use large buttons which are clearly labeled and require only a minimal amount of force to operate. A wired handset is more dependable than a wireless version as the batteries can run down at any time and be impossible to find when required at night. Some people prefer a side lever, which controls the recliner from the side of the seat.
Controls are vital for recliner chairs. They should be equipped with large buttons that feature clearly printed labels. Users need to test the recliner chair’s handsets in order to check whether they can be used in the best possible way before purchasing the recliner chair. Wired handsets are generally better than wireless units because the batteries of the latter can run out of power at the most inopportune times. For this reason, side levers for reclining instead of a remote control are favored by some.
Room size: the thing people forget until the delivery truck arrives
A lift recliner is generally wider than a two-seater sofa and needs space to recline in behind the chair. Most models require around 50cm of space to recline in behind the chair. Some models are designed to be used in smaller rooms and require as little as 15cm of wall clearance above the back of the chair. It is therefore very important to check the room and the dimensions of the chair before ordering. The worst scenario is for the chair to be delivered and not be able to open it up in the room. This is not a problem that can be sorted out after the chair has been delivered.
The space behind the recliner chair in the reclined position must be sufficient for someone to pass behind the chair safely. For example, in a bedroom, there must be sufficient space for someone to pass behind the chair in the dark of night. A small bedroom, narrow living room or even a hallway would not be suitable for a recliner chair in a reclined position. This is an aspect of recliner chairs that is rarely covered in the specifications for recliner chairs.
After several weeks, my neighbor’s mom developed back and knee pain from sitting in the wrong chair for three weeks. Her chair was not the most expensive, nor did it have the most features, nor was it the softest cushioning chair. The right chair for her would have been one that allowed her to get up from sitting in it comfortably. The right chair for her would have held her lower back while she was sitting. The right chair for her would have had controls that after reading the instructions she could use them comfortably in the morning at 7:00 am without having to read the instructions again.
