Lower Back Pain? The Ultimate Recliner Guide For A Bad Back

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Did you know that your choice of a chair can cause or treat lower back pain? People spend a lot of time sitting in the office or at home; hence a lousy chair is among the leading causes of lower back pain. That is why, apart from exercises, you should also invest in a good chair that offers proper lumbar support for a correct sitting posture.

In this case, the best recliner for lower back pain should come into play. Lower back pain being the leading cause of disability, it’s essential to learn how to use a recliner.

Let’s explore the good, bad, and amazing facts on recliners, followed by a buying guide for the best recliners for your particular needs.

Table of Contents

How Do You Use A Recliner?

Using a recliner depends on your choice of a recliner with its features. People like to lean back on a chair, but that should not be advisable for any chair. A recliner allows you to lean back to a recommended degree that does not strain your back.

According to the experts, you should not sit upright at a 90 degrees angle as this gradually adds pressure and destroys your spine. Preferably, in a working environment, you should sit leaning between 95-115 degrees. Conversely, while relaxing, lean back at 110-130 degrees to relax your back muscles and spine. (Source)

You can also sleep on your recliner, but don’t hurry to the stores yet. Sleeping on a recliner can significantly impact your back; therefore, it’s necessary to consider many facts. It’s a doctor’s recommendation to sleep on a recliner rather than a bed for some people. Such people require a not-so-flat position to sleep due to breathing issues, knee, back, leg, and hip problems that prevent lying flat on the back. However, see the below tips to make sure you are sleeping on your recliner the proper way.

Make sure your back is well supported. If your back and the chair leave a space, tuck in a pillow in the gap.
Your shoulders and hips should be comfortable and balanced, not leaning in one direction.
Place a neck pillow or rolled towel at the back of your neck. This way, your body will have an even and proper balance as your spine has no tension.

Are Recliners Good For Your Back?

Back in history, recliners were not for luxury but a brief working period. Though innovations are erupting every day on recliners, the design is still constant. At that time, specifics about the correct sitting posture and general spine health were not significant.

In those days, people did not sleep or spend a lot of hours sitting on a recliner. But that’s the norm nowadays, which results in various effects on the back. However, whether a recliner is good or not is reliant on many factors.

For starters, everybody is different, thus every back. A tall over 6-foot young man has another back and needs over a short and older adult. Luckily, recliners come with various features such as heat and massage in shapes, sizes, positions, and other advancements.

How Do Recliners Help Back Pain?

A recliner is an ultimate solution to backaches and pains, especially if the primary cause is not a recliner.

A perfect fit recliner will elevate the tension on your spine. How so? The leaning back position offers support to your body by pulling away from all the muscles’ tension. This way, it aligns the slightly squeezed parts of your back, thighs, and hips.

Moreover, kicking your feet up in a recliner offers relief to the knees, legs, and ankles. After a long tiring day at work, resting your feet up on a recliner’s footrest allows proper blood flow. For those who love wearing high heeled shoes, putting your feet up can help prevent inflammation and varicose veins. When your feet are up, it draws away from the fatigue and pressure from your spine. This allows it to heal and rest.

How Do You Sit On A Recliner With Lower Back Pain?

When choosing the best recliner for lower back pain, make sure it offers maximum support to all the major pressure points in your neck, back, bottoms, and legs. For instance;

The seat should be robust to carry your weight steadily.
The back of the chair should protrude a bit at the lumbar section to support your lower back.
While sitting, your feet should rest flatly on the floor without the shoes.
The armrests should be comfortable to support your forearm and not strain your shoulders upwards.

Also, make sure you sit in the middle of the chair. Avoid leaning on one side, as this will lead to an imbalanced position straining your back. Also, you will pull your hip and knee on the side with much weight.

How Do You Choose The Best Recliner For A Bad Back?

It would be best if you did not go for any recliners with a bad back but only the one that meets your unique needs. Therefore, this can be a challenge in finding the very best in the current market flooded with options. And because sitting on a recliner in a store may not be practical for most online buyers, here are things you should look for before settling on an option.

Features: it will be best if you choose a recliner with the following features;

Recliner with massage and heat will help relieve the tension to provide relaxation and boost the blood flow in the body and heal joint pains.
Lumbar support- this provides the ultimate comfort for the ailing back.
Reclining function- this gives various inclining angles of comfort.
The lift mechanism is mostly for the elderly; it’s the primary purpose of relieving the strain on the back and knees while getting out of a recliner.

Size: make sure you choose a recliner that best suits your size. A tall person needs a high back to offer comfort for the back pains and aches. An incorrect size will only elevate your back problems rather than heal them. Also, choose a vast enough space that you can comfortably sleep on without tweaking your hips or knees. Here is a detailed guide on “How to Choose the Right Size of Recliner?“

Budget: you should get what you can afford. With a wide range currently in the market, the prices differ with features and also brands. It will help if you considered the components first, then the brands because most brands are expensive with standard features. With a thorough search, you can get recliners that are much cheaper and offer quality features.

Further reading: List of 10 Best Budget Recliners

Material: in most cases, your budget will determine the type of material to look for in a recliner. While this is true, a good recliner for the lower back should have skin-friendly upholstery. It would be best if you sat comfortably in a chair that is warm and soft. A hard-to-touch material will be too rigid on your back, resulting in no relief for the pains. Soft is always comfortable to sit and even sleep on for an extended period. Whether leather or fabric, make sure it is soft and comfortable to maintain. Besides, you should not break your back trying to clean off the stains or spills on it.

Our Recommendation

Having back problems requires special attention that results in unique details in your choice of a recliner. Your recliner should be high quality with unique features to ease your tired spine, giving you support and comfort to sleep, sit watching a movie, or even read a book.

Therefore, we recommend the Lazy Boy recliners for back pain. Please check out the reviews herein to get the best choice in this category, fitting any budget.

Author

Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith is the founder of CozySeating, is a father of 2, and an engineer from one of the leading furniture stores in the country. Due to his 10 years of experience, he has proved to be the best person to offer advice to clients regarding different seating furniture based on their needs and performance. Besides, he is a specialist in product reviews and always keeps up with the current trends in the market.

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