important

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

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.

SIR David Beckham shared sweet snaps with daughter Harper at an exclusive ski resort and spoke of “making memories” with his kids amid his family feud with eldest son Brooklyn.

Becks, 50, is in Courchevel, France, with Harper, 14, and it looks like they’ve had a fun-filled week of fine-dining and snowy exploration.

Proud David shared a selection of their photos and wrote: “Creating memories with the kids either together or one on one has always been been important to me. 

“So this week Me and Harper created a few more memories. Love you pretty lady @harperbeckham.”

It comes a day after David came to the aid of a Brit tourist who fell over on the slopes in the French Alps.

A source said: “David saw the woman hit her head and was worried about her.

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“He took her skis off and made sure she was OK – he was a true gentleman.

“David was incredibly lovely, and so was the ski guide with him.”

Meanwhile, Harper recently reached out to estranged brother Brooklyn on Instagram sparking hopes she could be the one to thaw frosty relations.

She posted pictures showing her with Brooklyn and her other brothers Romeo and Cruz.

In one Valentine’s Day post she wrote, “I love you all so much, words can’t describe it” — while in another she called them “the best big brothers in the whole wide world”.

Harper’s posts were at first seen only by the 93 followers of her private account — but mum Victoria, 51, then reshared them with her 33.5million followers.

Brooklyn, 26, and Harper are not believed to be in touch, despite him reportedly feeling “protective” over her.

He does not follow her on Instagram and it is unclear if he has blocked her.

Last month Brooklyn posted a statement online blasting his parents and claiming brothers Romeo, 23, and Cruz, 20, had been “sent to attack me on social media, before they ultimately blocked me”.

He accused mum Victoria of “hijacking” his wedding day and “embarrassing” him with “inappropriate” dancing.

Brooklyn also sent a legal letter to Victoria and dad David, 50, insisting they contact him only via lawyers.

Harper was not mentioned. It is hoped that she, and other members of the wider family, may be able to ease relations with Brooklyn and his actress wife Nicola Peltz, 31.

Though he seemingly ignored his sister’s messages, sharing only a belated Valentine’s post in tribute to Nicola, in which he vowed to “forever protect and love you”.

It’s been a difficult period for Eze, who has found minutes in the league hard to come by and this was was only his second start in the league since December.

He has a tough route into the team with captain Martin Odegaard a key part of Arteta’s first-choice midfield when he is fit and Leandro Trossard being in good form on the left wing, which is the other position Eze might feature.

The Arsenal boss did trial Eze on the left, but he switched off when Matty Cash scored Aston Villa‘s opener in their 2-1 defeat in December and, despite starting the following game, he was left on the substitute’s bench for the next four league matches.

Arteta opted to play England winger Bukayo Saka from the start in the disappointing 2-2 draw with Wolves in midweek as a number 10 – ahead of Eze, who started on the bench.

And the Spaniard admitted: “He was upset, even with me, because I didn’t play him the other day from the beginning, and some of the decisions that I made. And I just have to understand how we’re going to get the best out of him now.”

Arteta was asked by BBC Sport whether Eze’s record of producing goals at the end of the season was one of the reasons they signed him.

“We looked at every stat, but that one, to be very honest, no,” he added while laughing.

“He scored five goals in the last few games against them, which is extremely difficult to do. But I could see that he wanted to prove something.”

England manager Thomas Tuchel was in attendance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Eze will have hoped to have caught his eye after a recent lack of game time to boost his World Cup hopes this summer.

“Today it’s worked out, we thank God for it,” Eze told Sky Sports. “We put in a good performance. We did what we needed to do, which was the main thing.

“I’m always trying to get in those positions to be ready and to find the space and to work hard to get those opportunities. It takes a lot to get there and it’s worked out today.”