While it may not be at the top of your packing list, health experts tell passengers to pack a tennis ball in their hand luggage when flying long-haul for one reason
It’s a small and light addition that can significantly improve your journey(Image: Olga Rolenko via Getty Images)
Packing a tennis ball isn’t to cure mid-flight boredom, it’s actually for something much more important.
If you’re already packing your bags for a holiday, or starting to think about where to jet off to in the summer, make sure you remember to pack a tennis ball.
According to health experts, they can help avoid stiffness or aches while in the air, as well as helping to enhance circulation. They can be used by gently applying pressure and rolling it up and down the thighs, legs, or even shoulders mid flight.
If you’re prone to feeling a bit groggy and sore after a flight, this handy trick might just do the job – and it won’t take up too much room in your carry on bag either.
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Osteopath Tracy Hannigan urged all passengers to pack one and said: “A tennis ball is small and light and can help you to apply soothing pressure to points you might otherwise not be able to reach,” as reported by Metro, and added: “‘A tennis ball is small and light and can help you to apply soothing pressure to points you might otherwise not be able to reach.”
If you do struggle with stiffness, the expert also recommended stretching regularly to help, noting that the side of the neck can be extended by “turning the chin towards the armpit and gently applying pressure to stretch the opposite side of the neck.”
She said you can also stretch your lower back in your plane seat by crossing your legs and leaning forward as if you’re “trying to reach down to the crossed-over foot with your elbow.”
Another of Tracy’s hacks is to use a hand towel and put the tennis ball in the middle of it and “roll it like a sausage” so when you apply pressure with the ball, it’s “easier to position” and will also help to keep it in position.
Flight attendant Cher, who has been working on aircrafts for five years, has also shared some of her own travel hacks, including urging people to put important items in carry-on baggage rather than checked suitcases. She even recommends these essentials be kept in the personal bag that sits at your feet.
She warned: “It is not uncommon for somebody to mistake your carry on as theirs and take it off. I have seen this dozens of times.” Cher advises packing underwear, a toothbrush, toiletries or “anything you couldn’t go a couple days without” in this bag. She noted: “The best thing in aviation is to basically prepare for the worst.
“Flight attendant bags are marked up to the nines with custom tags so we can identify them as ours. I would recommend doing something on your bag that will prevent somebody else from confusing it as theirs.