It’s quite common for us to undermine the importance of our mobility. Unless you find yourself in the situation where your mobility is limited, you’re not going to really understand the frustration you get when you depend on other people.
A lift chair is going to help you with that, but that’s not the only benefit that comes with the lift chair.
Why use a lift chair?
The lift chair is a medical equipment that you can use for gradually transporting the user to a standing position. You use it the same way for descending into a sitting position. This chair may be used both in upright position or reclined to various angles with just a push of a button.
The user has to find the center gravity after standing up and there should be good floor space below the chair’s front.
Despite of what one may think, the lift chairs are quite stable and safe and the risk for tipping over are quite minor.
What’s a lift chair?
Especially designed for the aged people or the ones with disabilities, lift chairs are a great tool to use by one recovering from a shoulder or knee surgery. Some specific features (heat or massage) are going to offer therapeutic advantages to people dealing with sore and stiff joints, back pain, arthritis, swollen ankles and feet.
You may also customize a lift chair for improving a posture and reduce the pressure if you’re struggling with spinal curvatures.
As they come in a nice variety of design and colors, you may add them to any home décor really easy.
There are three main categories, when taking the recline mechanism and footrest positioning under consideration:
- Two-position lift chairs
Affordable and easy to store as they have a small footprint, these chairs only need a wall clearance of 3-4 inches. You may find models that address the obese and overweight people.
These chairs involved a tough lift and reclining mechanism and come in all sorts of sizes, looks, weight capacity and add-on features.
They have just one motor common to the back and the footrest. As the back reclines, the footrest is also going to go up. They provide two positions:
- Your back is in upright position when using the chair as any other upright model. If you want to get out of the chair, you’re going to have to push of a button that is going to bend the back forward, helping you get up.
- You may also recline it to a maximum of 45degree. This is a nice position when watching TV. When you want to get out of the chair, you need to use the controller and place the chair in sitting position and only afterwards leaving it.
Releasing the push button is going to help you stop the reclining back anywhere between the upright position to 45 degrees.
- Three-position lift chairs
This type of chairs employs a strong lift mechanism and come in a nice variety of height, seat widths, sizes, fabric, colors, add-on features, back-style and capacity. They also have one single motor common to the back and the footrest. As the back is going to recline, the footrest is going to rise at the same time.
There are 3 positions that you may try with this type of chair:
- You can use it as an upright chair having its back in the upright position. When you want to get out of the chair, you need to push a button for bending the back forward.
- Recline the chair to 45-degree angle when you want to relax. If you want to get out of the chair, you’re going to have to use the hand controller for putting the chair in sitting position, leaving it only afterwards.
- Want to try some napping? You can recline it further as a V angle is going to appear between the back and the seat. When your naptime is done, you should press the button for getting the chair in the upright position, bending its back forward for leaving the chair.
You may recline the back anywhere between the aforementioned positions by using the push button.
- Infinite position lift chairs
Operating on dual motors, these chairs come with one motor for the back and one for the footrest. You may adjust them separately so that you can find the best position for your needs and likings.
The hand controller also includes two different push buttons- one for the back and one for the footrest.
The best part is that you may recline the back to 180 degrees angle and even further than that. These chairs definitely impress with their functionality and versatility. Instead of sitting upright when watching your favorite TV show, you may try all sorts of comfortable positions- hence, the name “infinite position lift chairs”/
Some models come with overstuffed back and pillow arms, for impressive comfort, no matter which position you go with.
What are the main features that count?
The variety of lift chairs may be overwhelming, especially if you’re buying for the first time. in addition, there are many places to choose from ,for instance , you can find plenty of models for you tho chose from on : Eagle Lift Chairs.
So here’s what you should remember when buying:
- The weight capacity is pretty generous and you may find lift chairs from normal to heavy duty/ heavy weight capacity models
- Lift chairs present various dimensions in terms of seat depth, seat width, overall height and back height
- There are two main back styles: the button backs and the pillow backs. The pillow backs are softer than the firmer ones. You can also select from sewn pillow, biscuit back or split back
- You use a hand controller for an electrically operated lift chair, but it may also include a build-in battery backup system so that you can use it even in the case of power failure
- Some models come with footrest extension
- Cloth, velvet, vinyl, leather is only some of the materials used for the lift chairs
- Some come with seat assist
- You may get a model that also includes optional features such as massage therapy, heat therapy, side cushions, folding tray tables, adjustable seat straps and so on.