Living made easy

Riser cushions listed in this section are intended to assist you when rising from a chair. They generally rise by tilting at an angle to assist with standing up from a chair. A few lift horizontally.

The cushions are either manual or powered by mains electricity or battery.

Help and advice

These riser cushions are placed on a chair seat and will add to the overall seat height if the existing cushion is not removed. They must only be used on a chair with armrests and a solid and stable seat base. The insert cushion should be of equivalent size to the chair seat, to prevent excessive movement. The fit of the riser cushion to the chair is particularly important for powered riser cushions as many of these models are quite deep so they may not suit a shorter seat depth.

Manual riser cushions require you to have enough strength in your arms to lift yourself from the seat in order to trigger the mechanism. The distance between the seat and armrest will be reduced by the height of the cushion and thus may cause difficulties if you use the armrests as leverage to rise from the chair. The chair therefore requires armrests which are high enough to support you as you rise from the chair with the cushion in place.

Riser cushions are portable and could therefore be useful for short term use on trips and holidays.

Care should be taken to ensure the chair does not slip when the riser cushion is used. It is advisable to position the chair with its back to the wall.

Manual riser cushions may need to be adjusted to your weight. Some can be preset by the manufacturer, others you will need to adjust yourself.

Read more advice on:
- Riser cushions.
- Standing from a chair.