Orthopedic chairs - Reclining sofa

The reclining sofa is a variation on the standards sofa where one or more of the fixed seats portions have been replaced by a reclining action. This allows any person sat on the sofa to adopt a more prone or inclined posture rather than an upright one.

How the recline action works

As with a recliner chair, the recliner sofa is normally operated by a small lever that releases a lock to allow the backrest to recline whilst simultaneously causing a leg support to lift up.

The lever is normally located between a side armrest and a seat cushion, although some sofas have a button release system.

Once the lever or button is activated the reclining motion is triggered simply by leaning backwards against the backrest. The weight of the body then causes the backrest to tilt away from the vertical and a mechanism that connects the backrest with the leg support then pushes the leg support panel upwards. The motion should be smooth and natural.

To reverse the process and bring the sofa back to a normally inclined elevation it is necessary to press down against the leg support (by bending the knees) whilst leaning forwards. This takes the pressure away from the backrest mechanism and the backrest returns to a more vertical position as the leg rest folds back down to become a panel of the sofa’s front facia.

Some recliner sofas will have one recliner seat whilst others with have two. In the case of a three seater sofa it will be the seats at either end that have the reclining action.

Cost and benefits

A sofa offering a reclining action will always cost more than an equivalent non-recliner sofa.

The benefit is the freedom to adjust seated position and to be able to adopt a very prone (near horizontal) posture for maximum relaxation. From a support perspective, these chairs are not designed with orthopedic considerations in mind, however they can be very comfortable.