Is your soft sofa too comfortable? This might be a reason for your back pain!!
The taste of furniture has evolved quite a lot— In the 70s, it was all about vivid colors, the 80s started the color matching movement and the 90s marked the beginning of soft sofas labeled as being comfortable.
But in 2020, you have the option to throw your soft couches and get something that will support your back. In this article, learn how to sit properly, the effects of sitting too long and how to support your back while lounging on your sofa.
These 6 reasons explain back pain when sitting
1. Encourage Poor Posture
Modern sofas are super soft and give you the illusion that it’s very comfortable. These sofas are designed in such a way that you can’t maintain a proper posture.
So, what’s a proper posture? Your back will be straight, feet on the ground and neck
upright.
On a soft sofa, you will be forced to lose your posture and sit in various ways. Long
exposure to such sitting can hamper the coordination of your spine and cause back
pain.
2. Keeps You in Slouching Position
What’s slouching? It’s basically cramping your body while sitting. If you are doing any of the following you are slouching:
● Sitting too deep into the sofa with shoulders curved forward
● Feet curled into the sofa with hands all over
● No alignment of head, shoulder or knees
Slouching can put stress on the ligaments of your spine and create back pain.
3. Lacks Supportive Spring
Soft sofas usually don’t have any cushioning or padding to support the upper and lower back. So, no matter how much you try to sit properly, you will always slouch.
Sofas with supportive springs are good for back pain sufferers and soft sofas don’t have these springs. Supportive springs keep your back straight at different points of impact. With soft and comfy sofas you have absolutely no support at all.
4. Lures Into Sitting Too Long
A 2011 study reveals that 25% of people in developed countries sit for more than 8
hours per day! That’s quite a lot and we can definitely assume that most of that sitting is due to a soft-slouching sofa.
When you sit on a soft sofa, you think that you are relaxing and spend hours watching movies. But on a long term basis, your back starts hurting and the shoulders fall over.
4. Puts Too Much Pressure to the Back
Think of it in this way- when you are maintaining proper posture, your knees, feet and the lower back supports most of your body’s weight.
But… in soft sofas, your weight falls on the spine and the pelvis. Getting in and out of such a position will put more strain on these parts.
You won’t feel any immediate pain. The pain will start slowly and spread in the years to come.
6. Limits Extension of the Whole Body
Most soft sofas are lower to the ground. They are made in such a way to keep you relaxed falling over your back.
With such low height, you can’t keep your knees at the proper angle or your legs don’t touch the floor at all. The back remains curved and the hands are deep at the back of the sofa.
In this way, the blood circulation becomes restricted. All of this contributes to back pain.
Final Words…
If you are still sitting on a soft couch, it’s time to invest in a firmer and supportive sofa. If comfort is your top priority, you can also find recliners that will serve the purpose.
Even if you insist on using your current sofa, you can use the pillows to act as cushioning to your back and neck. You can try out different forms of stretches to relieve your back pain.
The above reasons should be enough to make you decide on a new and ergonomic set of sofas.
References & Sources
● https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/realestate/the-ergonomic-sofa.html
● https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3655407/How-slouching-comfy-sofa-ruining-
Hi, I’m Samantha Miller, a part-time blogger, a full-time homemaker and as I like to call myself, a no-nonsense mother of two mischievous munchkins. Check out my site Experthomemakers.com to take a peek.
