Is sitting on a recliner harmful to legs – Debunking Myths About Recliners and Leg Health
There are some advantages as well as disadvantages associated with sitting on a recliner for longer hours. It is not a secret that sitting on a recliner for longer hours is beneficial for your back and neck, but it may not be such good news for your legs.
Sitting on a recliner for the whole day or night is harmful to your legs, as it can put you at risk of many health issues. Sitting in a recliner has been linked to increased weight gain, varicose veins, and swelling. The reason for this is that your body is being put into an unnatural position while you sit on the chair. Your hips and knees are being forced to be static, which can cause pressure on the joints and blood flow through these areas. This can lead to pain and discomfort in your feet, legs, and lower back.
There are several negative effects of using recliners on the leg muscles and bones:
1: Stiff Legs
Legs become stiff. The muscles in the lower leg (the quadriceps) are the ones that help us stand up from our chairs and get out of the chair. It is important to keep these muscles strong. However, if you spend long hours of time sitting on a recliner, they will become weak and lose their function. This means that you will have problems getting up from your chair and walking around as usual.
2: Knee Pain
The knee joints also suffer from prolonged sitting in one position (in particular when leaning back). When you sit for long periods of time, especially at night or during the day when you are working long hours, your knees will start to hurt because they can’t move freely anymore. You may feel pain in your joints or even see redness around them due to swelling caused by inflammation caused by overuse of muscles in this area.
3: Varicose Veins and Swelling
Sitting for long periods of time can affect your circulation system as well as the muscles in your legs. For instance, prolonged sitting can increase the pressure on your blood vessels, which can cause varicose veins and other vascular problems. It can also increase the chances of having a heart attack or stroke.
Besides this, most people suffer from swelling caused by sitting on a recliner for too long. This happens because the blood pools up in the legs, causing them to swell up and become more uncomfortable to sit.
4: Weight Gain
Additionally, prolonged sitting has been linked to weight gain and obesity. Long periods of sitting have been found to contribute to belly fat accumulation in women, according to a study in the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice.
5- Back Pain
The muscles in your lower body are used to help you stand up, walk, and run. But once you’re seated, they have to work overtime to keep your lower body from falling into an awkward slump. This is why sitting for extended periods can cause back pain and weak legs because these muscles don’t get enough exercise when you’re sitting down.
6- Severe arthritis or Sciatica
Sitting with bad posture also puts a strain on your spine, which can lead to long-term degenerative conditions such as arthritis or sciatica. There are some other disadvantages or downsides of sitting on a recliner chair for prolonged periods. But there are some advantages of these recliners too and some of them are so powerful that you may want to buy one for yourself today.
All the above-mentioned harms are associated with prolonged sitting on a recliner with bad posture. If you often take breaks, do light stretching of your legs, and improve your posture, you can minimize the disadvantages and maximize the advantages of recliner chairs.
Read also: Are Recliners bad for Your Hips
Advantages of Sitting on A Recliner
There are many advantages to sitting on a recliner. First, it provides good support for your back, neck, and legs. It helps in relieving fatigued legs after a long day at work standing or running around.
Secondly, recliners are ideal for those who sit at desks all day long. When you sit in regular chairs, your knees are higher than your hips. This puts extra strain on the muscles that support your lower back, making it more likely for you to experience pain or discomfort in this area. With a recliner, though, your knees are at the same height as your hips, which means less stress on this part of your body.
Power lift recliners are also a gift from heaven for the elderly who cannot stand up from a seated position without help. These recliners help them sit, stand, and relax without assistance from another person.
Hence, it’s crucial to improve your posture to benefit from the reclining chairs.
What is the right posture for sitting in a recliner?
The ideal posture to sit on a recliner is with your knees exactly at a level with your back. In the retracted position, you sit on a recliner in such a way that your back and knees are in line, with your knees making an angle of 90° with your feet on the ground.
In a reclined position, your heels must fall over the edges of an extended footrest, with your knees still at the level of your back and your legs elevated.
This way, blood will keep circulating through the legs, reducing the risk of varicose veins, knee pain, and fluid retention in the lower legs.
Read also: Are recliners bad for your Neck or Back?
Final Verdict
If you spend most of the day sitting on a chair, then you are at risk of developing leg and back problems. You can develop leg cramps and pain due to prolonged sitting, which may be due to various reasons such as poor blood circulation, lack of flexibility, and muscle weakness. You also have to watch out for poor posture when you sit in a chair as this can cause back pain too.
To prevent these problems, take regular breaks while working and stand up regularly so that your muscles get stretched out properly. Also, make sure that you get enough exercise so that the blood flow in your legs remains active throughout the day.
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