Filinov said no pain receptors in kidney so what is the pain when dry fasting?

[israel-did-911]

I commonly get lower back pain when dry fasting, and filinov recently said that you need to do massages because it's not the kidney thats causing pain, its just stress and you need to massage it away. is this true?

[Yannick]

I commonly get lower back pain when dry fasting, and filinov recently said that you need to do massages because it's not the kidney thats causing pain, its just stress and you need to massage it away. is this true?

This is a bit of a weird take. Yes, liver hepatocytes and nephrones do not have pain receptors ,but surrounding tissue does. I think Filonov latched unto this idea without thinking it through. The pain people feel in the kidneys and sometimes radiates to the upper back, is kidney pain. It's very often associated with hypoperfusion in the kidneys, and if aggressive enough can lead to a form of AKI (acute kidney injury). It's not a joke that some people should stop. I can't believe so many of the "gurus" just talk about pushing through. Don't get me wrong, there's a balance you need to understand. If there's an illness that is killing you and nothing has helped and you're sure that it's time to do a long dry fast, it makes sense. You take the risks because the juice is worth the squeeze. That's also why working with someone who really tries to understand your situation is worth it's weight in gold. But it's also why no one can get healthy without taking their health into their own hands. Doctors run businesses, and patient wellness comes second.

That's also why I recommend preparing with a low-carb diet, and I mean really low-carb, not some bullshit 100g of carbs "keto" diet, I mean 25-30g max. and getting fat adapted. The kidney pain usually comes from dehydration, volume contraction in the kidney and surrounding area, and electrolyte imbalances. Filonov urges massages during this time, which can help move blood flow around and counter a bit of this volume contraction, so it's very smart to book massages or administer self massages with rolling pins during this time. Probably minimizes risk. But the low carb diet adapts your body to these lower electrolyte levels and volume contraction, it also allows you to keep energy levels higher during the initial 3 days of fasting where most of the pain occurs from the body screaming in confusion when your body tries to switch from glucose to fat oxidation for most of its energy.

some people also might get kidney stones if prone, or see kidney stone dislodgement, because the urine concentrates and with it, minerals like calcium, oxalates, etc. this affect the renal pelvis or ureters and sometimes that's where the pain can come from. It's also why during the low carb prep it makes a lot of sense to include a form of kidney therapy (think lemon juice, ACV, and other kidney helpers) just as precaution.