How a Couch Assist Helps You Stand Up from a Soft Chair or Couch

Chair arms give you leverage to help you stand up. You push against the arms as you raise yourself up. When a couch or soft chair doesn’t have arms for leverage, you can use a couch assistance device instead.

A couch assistance device gives you a set of arms to use for leverage when standing up. One type uses a loose cushion to hold it into place. Another type installs under a chair or couch leg. Both types give you a stable arm or two to use for leverage when standing up. 

Where Can You Use a Couch Assistance Device?

You can use the loose pillow type of device under loose furniture cushions. This type of design does not work with attached cushions. You need the cushion to surround and stay on top of the device to hold it down. You can use a couch assist anywhere there are substantial and loose pillows below your bum.

The foot anchor design installs under a chair or couch foot. The furniture exerts substandtial pressure on the base of the device, holding it in place. You can consider using a foot anchor type with a bed, because you can anchor it under a bed frame. It’s probably not a good idea to use this with a simple hardwood chair as there would not be enough weight to hold the device in place.

How to Install a Couch Assistance Device

A loose-cushion device installs under a loose couch or chair cushion.

A furniture foot anchor design installs under a chair, couch or bed leg.

Push the device in so that the majority of the leg is held under the cushion or leg, to give you maximum anchoring in place.

How the Couch Assist Gives You Stability

The device legs sit under the cushion or furniture leg, which by itself gives some stability to the device.

Then when you sit down, your weight adds more stability still. The cushion or furniture leg, along with your weight, anchor the device to the furniture or floor.

A good couch assist  will also have non-slip foam where it meets the furniture or floor, and where your hands grasp it for leverage.

How Do You Stand Up with a Couch Assist Device?

The action you take to stand up using a device is similar to  how you get up from an armchair. Grab the bars on either side, and push down to leverage yourself upward.

If you are using a furniture leg anchor, you can use one or both hands to leverage on the single support arm this design offers.

When you are ready to stand, you push down on the assistance device arms for leverage. As you stand,less of your weight will press down on the seat cushion or footer. This is OK, because the couch cushion or furniture leg will still cover and hold down the bottom frame, keeping the device in place.

How to Portable Couch Assistance Devices Work?

The loose cushion devices usually pull into two pieces that are lightweight, but somewhat ungainly.

The furniture leg designs device might break down or it will be portable as assembled.

If you need assistance at another person’s home or on a trip, you can bring a portable couch assist with you.

How Much Body Weight Can You Put on the Couch Device?

If you think about how you stand in a chair with arms, you only place some leverage on the arms. If you put 100% of your weight on the arms, you’d be holding up your whole body on the strength of those two chair arms. That’s not how you stand up in a regular chair, and it’s not how to stand using a couch assistance device.

When you stand up using arm leverage, you put partial weight on the chair or device arms. You still have to use your legs to push yourself up as well. It’s a team effort with your arms pushing down and your legs unbending to get up.

Your legs do the work they usually do in standing up. The couch assistance device is to give stability and leverage to your arms.

Couch assistance devices usually handle as much as 70% of your body weight as you stand. Check with the individual device description for its load capacity if you plan on really leaning on your assistance device.