You might remember the old song:

"Your leg bone connected to your knee bone
Your knee bone connected to your thigh bone
Your thigh bone connected to your hip bone
Your hip bone connected to your back bone"

And the old song is true, but that's not the whole story. Don't forget that the body is not only connected by joints, body regions are also connected by FASCIA. What's that? It's a connecting tissue that's kind of like a vacuum seal. It covers pretty much every surface in our body - muscles, organs, vessels, bones, you name it. It covers body areas and attaches to certain points in the body to keep things in place, like your intestines, bladder, etc. It also helps muscles, nerves, and other vessels slide back and forth smoothly to better movement.

Some fascia attaches to the spine and hips to keep digestive organs in place. So...if certain organs or body tissues get overworked, infected, or inflamed, it can place extra tension on its surrounding fascia and restrict movement. Many times irritation in the abdominal area tightens the fascia and it's attachment to the hip bone, which can cause a change in position and function of the hip, resulting in a change in position or function of the rest of the leg.

So, the next time you or your dancer tweaks a knee, ankle, or the back, think or ask: has the stomach been irritated recently? has there been a recent illness? changes in medication or a recent medical procedure (dental work counts)? Check the other body systems for recent changes or symptoms. It could be related to the current joint or movement issue.

"The knee bone's connected to the liver...the liver's connected to the back bones...the back bone's connected to the intestines..."

(P.S. The pic at the top of the post is one of our clients, David, a professional dancer and college dance professor. After a recent knee surgery, he was experiencing difficulty bending his knee. Turns out, a 10-minute belly rub and massage to increase circulation down the leg was all he needed to achieve full and equal knee mobility! No stretching or exercise required!)