Expert shares tennis ball hack to beat lower back pain

A structural kinesiologist has shared how two tennis balls and a sock can help ease back pain while travelling. Photo / Unsplash

If you have a long road trip or flight planned, don’t forget to pack two tennis balls and a sock, according to structural kinesiologist and personal trainer Laura Coleman.

The health professional has shared a trick for avoiding back pain during a long drive and all you need are a few tennis balls.

In the video, shared on Instagram in January, Coleman sits in a car as she talks to the camera.

“Here’s something I tell my clients when they’re travelling or getting in their car,” says Coleman in the video, which has been liked more than 37,400 times.

“Take two tennis balls, put them in a sock. Take that sock, put it in the middle of your back.”

Coleman shows viewers a sock, which has been stuffed with two tennis balls and then tied off at the end to hold them in place.

According to Coleman, it doesn’t matter where the tennis balls are along your back as long as they are between the top of your hip bones and the bottom of your shoulder blades.

Leaning into the balls while sitting, Coleman says, helps “break loose the middle of your back, which gets super tight because you’re stuck sitting, especially on a long trip”.

Although Coleman filmed the video sitting in a car, she said the tip also works well for long-haul flights.

The trick works by using acupressure, a method of treating muscle tightness and pain that has its roots in traditional Chinese medicine.

While the benefits of acupressure have since been proven in scientific journals, for the low cost of a few tennis balls and a sock, travellers have little to lose when trying this tactic.

Other tactics travellers and airline crew swear by include drinking lots of water, moving around the cabin when possible, stretching during the flight and avoiding slumping back in your seat.