When packing for vacation, most travelers make sure they don’t forget their passport, charger or toiletries. Specialists also recommend adding a less common item to the list of things needed during a plane trip: a tennis ball.
The tennis ball can be used to reduce the feeling of stiffness and discomfort that occurs during long flights. In addition, it is small and light and takes up almost no space in your luggage. According to health professionals, it can be used by applying light pressure and rolling it along the thighs, legs or shoulders, Metro notes.
Tracy Hannigan, osteopath and sleep therapist, recommends using the tennis ball with a towel.
“A great tip is to find a towel, put the ball in the middle of it and roll it like a sausage,” explained this, in a partnership with the travel insurance company InsureandGo.
According to the specialist, this method makes the ball easier to position and prevents it from sliding when used for massage.
“A tennis ball is small and light and can help you apply soothing pressure to points you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach,” Hannigan also said.
How the tennis ball can be used on the plane
In addition to using the massage ball, the specialist also recommends regular stretches to reduce stiffness during long journeys. For the side of the neck, this suggests turning the chin toward the armpit and applying gentle pressure to stretch the opposite side of the neck.
And the lower back can be stretched right from the airplane seat. For this exercise, the legs can be crossed and the trunk bent forward, as if the person is trying to reach the crossed leg with the elbow.
The tennis ball trick has also been picked up by travel enthusiasts. One r/TravelHacks community user shared that he uses the ball in his lower back when sitting for long periods of time. “Put it at the base of your spine, near your tailbone. I do this when I’m driving for long periods and it helps with my back pain.” he reported.
The water bottle trick for the hotel room
The tennis ball isn’t the only unusual trick adopted by travelers. Esther Sturrus, a KLM airline employee and travel content creator on TikTok, recommended that tourists put a bottle of water under the bed when they arrive in a hotel room.
The method is presented as a way to quickly check if there is someone under the bed. Sturrus recommends rolling the bottle under the bed. It should come out the other side. If the glass does not come out, travelers can check the space under the bed more closely.
n const _iprc = performance.now();nu003C/script>nnu003Cscript class=”optanon-category-C0004″ type=”text/plain”>nconsole.log(“*** cookieconsent done:”, Math.round(performance.now() – _iprc) / 1000);n gtag(‘event’, ‘cookieconsent’, {n name: ‘load’,n value: Math.round(performance.now() – _iprc) / 1000n });nu003C/script>nu003C!– END PERFORMANCE COOKIE PRO –>nn{{#unless context.ads_disabled}}nnu003Cscript class=”optanon-category-C0004″ type=”text/plain” src=”//a.teads.tv/page/99553/tag” async=”true”>u003C/script>n{{/unless}}nnu003Cdiv data-ad=”adevarul.ro_728x90_sticky_display_bottom_adevarul_bottom_center_leaderboard” data-devices=”m:0,t:1,d:1″ class=”demand-supply”>u003C/div>nn{{#if context.content}}nn{{#unless context.ads_disabled}}nu003Cscript class=”optanon-category-C0004″ type=”text/plain” src=”https://cnt.trvdp.com/js/1544/6545.js”>u003C/script>n{{/unless}}nnn{{/if}}nnn”,”html_mobile”:”nnnu003C!– CHECK PERFORMANCE COOKIE PRO –>nu003Cscript>n const _iprc = performance.now; – _iprc) / 1000n });nu003C/script>nu003C!– END PERFORMANCE COOKIE PRO –>nn{{#unless context.ads_disabled}}nnnu003Cscriptn class=”optanon-category-C0004″n type=”text/plain”n src=”//a.teads.tv/page/99553/tag”n async=”true”n>u003C/script>nn{{/unless}} nnu003Cdivn data-ad=”adevarul.ro_sticky_mobile_bottom”n data-devices=”m:1,t:0,d:0″n class=”demand-supply”n>u003C/div>nn{{#if context.content}} nnn{{#unless context.ads_disabled}}nu003Cscript class=”optanon-category-C0004″ type=”text/plain” src=”https://cnt.trvdp.com/js/1544/6545.js”>u003C/script>n{{/unless}}nn{{/if}}nn”},”updated_at”:”2025-11-01T11:3 1:21.462Z”},”AdPosition_head”:{“data”:{“custom_fields”:{},”for_desktop”:true,”for_mobile”:true,”html_desktop”:”u003Cmeta name=”profitshareid” content=”934cd37887433d585a2a227ef0576fcc” />nnnn{{#unless context.ads_disabled}}nnn{{#if context.content}}nu003Cscript type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0004″ src=”https://jsc.mgid.com/site/960965.js” async>u003C/script>nnnu003Cscript type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0004″>n (function () {n if (document.location.pathname.indexOf(“https://adevarul.ro/ghid-de-cumparaturi”) === 0) {n return;n }nn const s = document.createElement(“script”);n s.src = “https://srv.divee.ai/storage/v1/object/public/sdk/divee.sdk.latest.js”;n s.setAttribute(“data-project-id”, “4428864e-2da6-4fef-a83c-c16c2dfe86d9”);n s.async = true;n document.head.appendChild(s);n })();nu003C/script>nnnnnn{{/if}}nnu003Cscript>n window.teads_analytics = window.teads_analytics || {};n window.teads_analytics.analytics_tag_id = “PUB_26459″;n window.teads_analytics.share = window.teads_analytics.share || function() {n ;(window.teads_analytics.shared_data = window.teads_analytics.shared_data || ()).push(arguments)n };nu003C/script>nu003Cscript type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0004″ src=”https://a.teads.tv/analytics/tag.js”>u003C/script>nnn{{#unless context.features.nolivesupply}}nu003Cscript async data-cfasync=”false” type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0004″ src=”https://live.demand.supply/up.js”>u003C/script>n{{/unless}}nnu003Cscript type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0004″ src=”https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3345426167175409″ crossorigin=”anonymous”>u003C/script>nn u003Cscript type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0004″ src=”https://terrific.live/terrific-sdk.js” storeid=”iN6X0VPTDIicsVPKX6p0″>u003C/script>nn{{/unless}}nnu003Cstyle>n.google-adposition > div {n flex-grow: 1;n}nn.google-adposition:has(iframe) {n background-image: none !important;n}nn.menu-fixed .menu .headContainer .google-auto-placed {n display: none;n}nnarticle header .title .google-auto-placed {n display: none;n}nn#onetrust-banner-sdk #onetrust-accept-btn-handler {n margin-bottom: 10px;n }nn #onetrust-banner-sdk #onetrust-reject-all-handler {n visibility: hidden;n }nnu003C/style>nn u003C!– Facebook Pixel Code –>u003Cscript type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0002″>!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f.fbq)f.push=n;n.loaded=!0; n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’); fbq(‘init’, ‘1346397800155390’); fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);u003C/script>u003Cnoscript> u003Cimg height=”1″ width=”1″ src=”https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1346397800155390&ev=PageView&noscript=1″/>u003C/noscript>u003C!– End Facebook Pixel Code –>nnu003C!– alternativeAds –>n”,”html_mobile”:”u003Cmeta name=”profitshareid” content=”934cd37887433d585a2a227ef0576fcc” />nnn{{#unless context.ads_disabled}}nn{{#if context.content}}nu003Cscript type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0004″ src=”https://jsc.mgid.com/site/960965.js” async>u003C/script>nnu003Cscript type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0004″>n (function () {n if (document.location.pathname.indexOf(“https://adevarul.ro/ghid-de-comparaturi”) === 0) {n return;n }nn const s = document.createElement(“script”);n s.src = “https://srv.divee.ai/storage/v1/object/public/sdk/divee.sdk.latest.js”;n s.setAttribute(“data-project-id”, “4428864e-2da6-4fef-a83c-c16c2dfe86d9”);n s.async = true;n document.head.appendChild(s);n })();nu003C/script>nn{{/if}}nnu003Cscript>n window.teads_analytics = window.teads_analytics || {};n window.teads_analytics.analytics_tag_id = “PUB_26459″;n window.teads_analytics.share = window.teads_analytics.share || function() {n ;(window.teads_analytics.shared_data = window.teads_analytics.shared_data || ()).push(arguments)n };nu003C/script>nu003Cscript type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0004″ src=”https://a.teads.tv/analytics/tag.js”>u003C/script>nn{{#unless context.features.nolivesupply}}nu003Cscript async data-cfasync=”false” type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0004″ src=”https://live.demand.supply/up.js”>u003C/script>n{{/unless}}nnu003Cscript type=”text/plain” class=”optanon-category-C0004″ src=”https://terrific.live/terrific-sdk.js” storeid=”iN6X0VPTDIicsVPKX6p0″>u003C/script>nn{{/unless}}nu003Cstyle>nn.google-adposition:has(iframe) {n background-image: none !important;n}nn.menu-fixed .menu .headContainer .google-auto-placed {n display: none;n}nnarticle header .title .google-auto-placed {n display: none;n}nn#onetrust-banner-sdk #onetrust-accept-btn-handler {n margin-bottom: 10px;n }nn #onetrust-banner-sdk #onetrust-reject-all-handler {n visibility: hidden;n }nu003C/style>n”},”updated_at”:”2026-07-22T15:44:05.196Z”}},”last_changed”:”2026-08-11T08:42:08.695Z”,”page”:{“created_at”:”2026-08-06T08 :22:24.675Z”,”created_by”:1,”custom_fields”:{},”domain”:”adevarul.ro”,”id”:99,”last_published_at”:”2026-08-06T08:22:26.048Z”,”name”:”Content layout (article)”,”published”:1,”s3_hash”:”a5e0764cf3bce051367545eab1538b4619e8ecb9″,”slug”:null,”title”:”Content layout”,”type”:”layout”,”updated_at”:”2022-07-21T08:27:20.732Z”,”version_id”:269},”path”:”/lifestyle/travel/the-unexpected-object-that-the-specialists-recommend a-2549015.html”,”pathArray”:(“”,”lifestyle”,”travel”,”the-unexpected-object-that-specialists-recommend-2549015.html”),”type”:”content”,”url”:”https://true rul.ro/stil-de-viata/calatorii/objetul neaseptat-pe-care-specialistii-recomanda-2549015.html”,”features”:{},”query”:{},”domain_config”:{“MISC”:{“logo”:{“width”:32 0,”height”:50}},”SYSTEM_TAGS”:(“noads”,”nocomments”,”sex”,”advert”,”advertorial”,”video”,”gallery”,”live”,”photo”,”exclusive”,”analysis”,”interview”,”report”,”breaking news”),”default”:{“lang”:”ro”,”domain”:”adevarul.ro”,”alternateDomain”:”adevarul-ro.adh.reperio.news”,”friendlyName”:”Adevărul”,”logoURL”:”https://adevarul.ro/favicon-144-precomposed.png”}},”client”:{“is_mobile”:false}}
