The kidneys are the main organs of the urinary system.

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They are responsible for the excretion of waste substances through the urine and have other very important functions, including the regulation of the balance of the internal environment of the organism (it would be the extracellular fluid - the one that surrounds all cells -), controlling the volume of fluids, and the secretion of various hormones.

They are located in the back of the abdomen on both sides of the spine (at the level of the high lumbar vertebrae).

Each one is shaped like a bean, and its size is the equivalent of a clenched fist.

The kidney moves about 600 meters a day.

In each inspiration it moves between three and four centimeters, since the diaphragm muscle pushes it downwards; this movement is repeated 20,000 times per day.

- Each kidney contains about a million functional units (cells) called nephrons.

- About 1,700 liters of blood are sent to the kidneys every 24 hours (the approximate equivalent of the weight of a car).

- Of these 1,700 liters, 170 enter the renal parenchyma (that is, they are filtered).

- Of the 170 liters, about 99% is reabsorbed into the circulation, and "what's left" (one or two liters) is eliminated from the body as urine.

The kidneys are related posteriorly to various nerves (12th intercostal, iliohypogastric, ilioinguinal, lateral femoral cutaneous, genitofemoral, and lower down the femoral nerves) that can be affected by dysfunction (loss of mobility) of the kidney.

For example, compression of the Femoral Nerve generated by the kidney can give symptoms of hypersensitivity of the thigh on the same side, accompanied by pain from inflammation of the knee capsule.

This in turn generates a spasm of the psoas (muscle located in the anterior area of the hip and that connects with the lumbar spine) which tends to rotate the leg outwards.

For all of the above, it is essential to release the tissues that surround the kidney to allow the body to stabilize itself.

"You have to find the right balance in movement and not in stillness." Bruce Lee