by Jo C. Hints Re Choosing Recliners and Lift Chairs

Jo C.

It is a good idea to seek input and measure before buying a chair.  What we found out the hard way was that one needs to do a bit of research and measuring of our Loved One (LO); and so much also depends on what our LOs capabilities are.

Since such chairs are pricey, it would be good to know whether you want to invest in a recliner only chair or if you think it would be wise to get a reclining chair that is also a lift chair as needs change.

I am including a couple of links below, and it is a good idea, if you can, to get PT and/or OT input so you know how to measure you LO for chair fit needs and what to look for.

One of the below links is with two Physical Therapists; it is a little slow, but there are many hints re chairs and rising from them as well as safety concerns.

The other link discusses sizes and weight for chair fit.

First, chair height makes a huge difference. When a friend's mother bought a chair some time ago, the place she bought her chair from actually measured for chair height, for width from side to side and also for distance from front of the chair to the back of the chair for her height and weight; it all makes a difference.

We found that over sized plush armrests are counterproductive and a hindrance for use. Best to have a narrower more solid upholstered set of armrests that go all the way to the end of the chair seat. If the arms are to short, the person cannot use them to assist standing. We also found that if a recliner was without a lift capacity that we needed to take two things under consideration:

Plushy, plushy overfilled chairs compact over time and comfort and capabilities change. If one has a very plushy headrest, that can sometimes be very uncomfortable for bad body mechanics as the head is often pushed forward and for some can cause neck/head pain.

We found that with one chair, whenever one put the footrest up, the chair back automatically reclined. That was not a good dynamic as my LO often wanted feet up but also wanted to sit upright to be able to visit or watch TV.

The other thing we found was that some footrests in non-lift chairs were easy to go up; but very difficult to try and get it back down again; this was was a huge problem as it was very difficult taking a lot of strength and our LO could not manage that. The danger in such a situation is that the person using the chair will not have the strength to put the footrest down and instead, try to move and stand themselves across the upright footrest leading to fall or other injuries.

With electric recliner chairs or electric lift/recliner chairs, if a LO can operate the mechanism control; that is great, but sometimes we have to operate it for them if confusion is present. 

With a lift capability, some chairs do this nicely but other chairs seem to put a person in an uncomfortable feeling like they are going to fall situation. Fit and capability is again very important.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m5qNdrKjM8

 10 Tips for Recliner/Chair For Those Who Can't Stand Easily.

Best of luck finding just the right chair,

J.