|
Could Recliners Be Bad for Your Back?
06-09-2011, 08:03 AM
|
#1
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Could Recliners Be Bad for Your Back?
I've spent a lot of time either in one of our La-Z-Boy recliners (reading, sleeping, or watching TV)
or this leather recliner (on the laptop)
But recently, when my back was sore, just a few minutes in either of these chairs caused it to get a lot worse. Although I would feel completely comfortable in the chairs, when I got out of them, my back hurt more. Note that both chairs feel as if they are supporting my back just right.
It's true that at that point, almost anything other than standing or lying down made things worse.
So the question is: when my back is fine, are these chairs putting stress on it? Can I use the compromised back as a canary-in-the-coalmine type indicator that there's damage being done that, in normal circumstances, I don't notice?
__________________
Al
|
|
|
|
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
06-09-2011, 08:07 AM
|
#2
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 17,242
|
To me, when I have a bad back I actually get in my recliner as it makes my back feel better...
The only negative is there are some that have big pillow head rests and they seem to push your head forward which can cause some problems... but my back problem is at the bottom of my spine....
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 08:10 AM
|
#3
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
|
This is very helpful I believe. Also, her voice is really fun to listen to.
Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 09:42 AM
|
#4
|
Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
|
Al, It was over a month ago that you hurt your back and you are still in a lot of pain . Maybe it's time for a second opinion and possibly some physical therapy?
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 10:42 AM
|
#5
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
|
Was leaned back in the recliner, reach up to get my beer, and pulled a muscle...
__________________
Have Funds, Will Retire
...not doing anything of true substance...
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 10:43 AM
|
#6
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Waimanalo, HI
Posts: 1,881
|
It's an interesting idea that the recliners might be harmful. As an alternative theory about why your back hurt worse when you got out of a recliner, maybe while standing, before using the recliner, you had accommodated to the pain and so just weren't noticing it. The recliner helped, but when you got up again, you needed time to get used to the renewed higher pain level.
__________________
Greg (retired in 2010 at age 68, state pension)
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 11:09 AM
|
#7
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moemg
Al, It was over a month ago that you hurt your back and you are still in a lot of pain . Maybe it's time for a second opinion and possibly some physical therapy?
|
No, I'm a lot better now. I think I would have healed in 2-3 weeks if I hadn't had to play piano. I got better, then practiced for five hours in one day and it was back to the drawing board.
That stretch-sitting thing is great and I am doing it right now. Stretch lying also good. They provide immediate relief and I suspect they are quite beneficial. The accent: her mom was Dutch and she grew up in India. Her book is good.
__________________
Al
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 11:26 AM
|
#8
|
gone traveling
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: DFW
Posts: 7,586
|
Maybe you need one of those upside down recliners that stretch your spine out.
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 12:23 PM
|
#9
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Nowhere, 43N Latitude, NY
Posts: 9,037
|
I have a homemade square throw pillow, filled with very soft fiberfill (looks like cotton candy) and a plush teddy bear, filled with same type of material. I use them for my lower back, upper back, or as a headrest (teddy) as needed when I sit on my leather recliner or couch. Sometimes I don't need anything.
Mr B has permanently commandeered the leather recliner. He says it is the most comfortable recliner he ever sat in. It molds to his shape easily and is very soft but has firm support.
__________________
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 02:26 PM
|
#10
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,500
|
I don't know if sitting in a recliner is bad for one's back, but I do know this.
Turning a heavy recliner upside down and wrestling unsuccessfully with the stupid mechanism underneath when it gets stuck and won't move for anything is murder on one's back. It's even worse when the malfunctioning recliner is one of two in an unbelievably heavy Laz-y-boy sofa like the one that I gave to the Salvation Army last fall. Yes, the recliner thingee was permanently stuck in the "feet up" position but they said they would fix it and were glad to get it.
Well, maybe I just have had bad luck with recliners, or maybe my personality type is a little too intense to mesh with recliner ownership. At any rate, I stick to easy chairs with ottomans, now. Much less stressful for me.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 02:30 PM
|
#11
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 11,330
|
You are living to far below your means Al. I can tell by the hat. Turn the heat up, that will warm your muscles and improve the back .
__________________
Idleness is fatal only to the mediocre -- Albert Camus
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 04:25 PM
|
#12
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by W2R
Turning a heavy recliner upside down and wrestling unsuccessfully with the stupid mechanism
|
Been there. I once spent hours trying to eliminate a squeak that would wake me up when Lena finished her nap. No success.
__________________
Al
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 04:44 PM
|
#13
|
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,860
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
Been there. I once spent hours trying to eliminate a squeak that would wake me up when Lena finished her nap. No success.
|
Slow, fat, hanging right over the plate... I can hear REWahoo typing already!
__________________
*
Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."
I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 04:46 PM
|
#14
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 11,330
|
Al: You Googled this guy - saveyourself.ca - on the Body by Science thread. Did you notice that he is all about fixing back pain?
__________________
Idleness is fatal only to the mediocre -- Albert Camus
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 05:19 PM
|
#15
|
Administrator
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,724
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
So the question is: when my back is fine, are these chairs putting stress on it? Can I use the compromised back as a canary-in-the-coalmine type indicator that there's damage being done that, in normal circumstances, I don't notice?
|
Yes. Your lower back needs lumbar support which most chairs don't have, especially soft back sofas and recliners. A lifetime of improper seating catches up with some of us and seems to be aggravated by back strains.
Regularly stretching the lower back will help. There are some very specific stretches that are simple and very effective you can do on the floor. A link to this website was posted by Alan some time ago I have found very effective BackFitPro.com for stretching and strengthening advice. DW uses an inversion table. I find it helpful for my neck and shoulders but not for the lower back.
You asked in another thread if stretching and strengthening really worked. My experience is there is no "cure" for decades of bad posture, but stretching and strengthening keeps the pain to a minimum and I have the sense that my back is rehabilitating slowly but truly. I also use a Herman Miller aeron chair (I'd probably be a basket case without it) and a lumbar pillow when I know I'll be spending extended time in poor seating.
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 06:41 PM
|
#16
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,532
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nords
Slow, fat, hanging right over the plate... I can hear REWahoo typing already!
|
This had me LOL! Thanks!
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 06:47 PM
|
#17
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,021
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nords
Slow, fat, hanging right over the plate... I can hear REWahoo typing already!
|
Self restraint is my only weakness...
__________________
Numbers is hard
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 06:56 PM
|
#18
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,596
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by HFWR
Was leaned back in the recliner, reach up to get my beer, bong and pulled a muscle...
|
Fixed it for ya HFRW I hear ya baby. I'm gettin' too old for that $hit too.
__________________
I purr therefore I am.
|
|
|
06-09-2011, 08:46 PM
|
#19
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
|
I'd smoke weed with Willie...
Al, if it's squeaky, you need more lubricant...
__________________
Have Funds, Will Retire
...not doing anything of true substance...
|
|
|
06-11-2011, 11:01 AM
|
#20
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 229
|
My recliner is the only comfortable place when my back hurts
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Threads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Quick Links
|
|
|