Why should you bring tennis balls with you when flying?

Use tennis balls to massage your legs, hips, and will bring relaxing and anti-aching effects.

When preparing luggage for a trip, what are the things you think about when sitting on a long flight? Many people think of a large suitcase with clothes, shoes, a good book to read while sitting in an airplane.

However, according to Dr. Ali Ghoz, consultant, surgeon specializing in hips and knees, belonging to the London Center for Orthopedic Surgery (UK), tennis ball is something to bring with you.

A tennis ball will help massage your aching body area more effectively.(Photo: Getty).

Sitting on a multi-hour flight makes your legs swell, your belly feels bloated and uncomfortable. Long-distance flights also cause muscle pain. Instead of disturbing a companion who has to massage your feet to help you, or you have to hand massage yourself without being effective, use tennis balls to eliminate discomfort and aches in the body areas like back, hips, calves, shoulders.

All you need to do is place the tennis ball in the area that feels painful or stressful. Press down with your hand and roll over and over until it feels more comfortable.

According to Ali Ghoz, using a tennis ball to massage while sitting on an airplane will help increase blood circulation to the body areas. You can use the hand to caress muscles from the ankle upwards to promote this process. Occasionally, you should get up and walk a few times around the cabin, drink some more water. Booking tickets with comfortable footrests is also effective in fighting aches and pains.

You should also note, if you have just undergone a leg surgery, you should wait at least 2 weeks before a short flight and 8 weeks before a long-haul flight.