Where Are The Flanks Located On The Body? | Find The Spot

The word “flank” sounds straightforward, yet a lot of people point to three different places when they hear it: the side of the belly, the top of the hip, or the low back. That mismatch leads to sloppy workout cues, confusing symptom descriptions, and weird “is this the right area?” moments in the mirror.

This page makes the flank location clear using landmarks you can feel on your own body. You’ll also see how the flank differs from the waist, hips, and “love handles,” plus what sits under that area, so the term stops feeling vague.

Flanks Located On The Body: Boundaries You Can Feel

Your flank is part of your trunk (your torso). It’s not your arm, not your thigh, and not your underarm. It’s the side wall of your midsection.

Two borders make it easy to picture. The upper border is the lower edge of your rib cage. The lower border is the top ridge of your pelvis (the bony shelf you feel when you put your hands on your hips). The flank spans the space between those two borders on each side.

One more detail: the flank leans toward the back. If you stand in front of a mirror and turn a quarter turn, your flank sits between the side of your abdomen and the side of your low back. It’s the zone your hand lands on when you rest it on your side, then slide it a bit behind your hip.

How To Find Your Flanks In Under A Minute

You don’t need a chart, a ruler, or special anatomy knowledge. You just need two bony landmarks and a mirror check.

Step 1: Find The Top Of Your Hip Bone

Stand relaxed. Put your hands on your hips like you’re making a “hands-on-hips” pose. Under your palms, you’ll feel a firm ridge. That ridge is the top of your pelvis (often called the iliac crest).

Step 2: Find The Lower Edge Of Your Rib Cage

Keep one hand on your hip ridge. With your other hand, slide your fingers upward along your side until you feel the bottom edge of the ribs. On many bodies, the lowest rib edge feels clearer a bit toward the back than at the front.

Step 3: Mark The Side Zone Between Those Two Lines

Now picture a vertical “side panel” between the rib edge and the hip ridge. That side panel is your flank. Run your fingers through that space. You’ll feel a mix of soft tissue and muscle, not a single hard bone.

Step 4: Double-Check With A Mirror

Turn sideways to a mirror. Place your hand on the side of your torso between ribs and hips, then drift your hand slightly back. If your hand is sitting on the side wall of your trunk (not on your belly button area, not centered on your spine), you’ve landed on the flank.

Common Mix-Ups That Throw People Off

• Too far forward: You’re on the side of the abdomen.
• Too far back: You’re on the low back muscles near the spine.
• Too low: You’re on the upper hip and glute area.
• Too high: You’re up near the lower ribs or underarm crease.

Flanks Vs Waist, Hips, And Lower Back

People use “flank” in everyday speech as a catch-all for “the side.” In health and fitness contexts, it’s more precise. Here’s how to separate the neighboring areas without overthinking it.

Flank Vs Waist

The waist is the narrowest part of your trunk on many bodies, often closer to the front than the flank. The flank sits more on the side and slightly behind that narrow point.

Flank Vs Hip

The hip area is anchored by the pelvis and the joint where the femur meets the pelvis. The flank sits above that joint and above the bony ridge you feel at the top of the pelvis.

Flank Vs “Love Handles”

“Love handles” usually means the softer tissue you can pinch at the side of the waistline. That pinch point often overlaps the flank, yet the flank is a broader region than the pinch alone. You can have a clear flank region even if you don’t have much pinchable tissue there.

Flank Vs Kidney Area

People sometimes say “kidney area” when they mean the back portion of the flank. Kidneys sit deeper inside the body, and pain felt in the flank region can come from more than one source. The location word (“flank”) describes the surface area you point to, not a single organ.

What Sits Under The Flank Area

Knowing what’s under the flank helps you understand workout cues and symptom language. It also explains why the same “side pain” description can mean different things.

Muscles Along The Side Wall

The side of your trunk is formed by layered abdominal muscles (commonly described as external oblique, internal oblique, and transversus abdominis) plus deeper muscles that help steady the spine. A standard anatomy text description uses “flanks” when describing these side-wall layers next to the central abdominal muscles. OpenStax section on abdominal wall muscles.

Bones That Frame The Region

Two bony borders make the flank easier to locate by touch: the lower ribs above and the top ridge of the pelvis below. Those borders are why “between ribs and hips” is the simplest, most consistent flank description.

Deeper Structures

Deeper inside, the flank region sits near parts of the urinary tract and parts of the colon, depending on which side you’re talking about. That’s one reason health sources treat flank pain as a symptom that can have more than one cause.

If you like clean directional words, “lateral” means away from the midline and “posterior” means toward the back in standard anatomical position. Those terms match how the flank sits on the body: side-leaning and slightly back. Oregon State anatomy terminology overview.

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Common Times You’ll Hear “Flank”

You’ll run into the term in three places: fitness cues, symptom write-ups, and hands-on bodywork. In each case, the word is doing the same job: it’s naming the side-and-slightly-back zone between ribs and hips.

Fitness Cues

Trainers may say “keep your ribs stacked” or “brace the flanks.” That’s usually a cue for the side wall of the trunk to stay firm while you move arms or legs. If you can feel your hip ridge and your lower ribs, you can place your hand on your flank and notice whether that area is staying steady.

Massage And Stretching

Bodywork talk often uses “flank” to describe the side of the trunk where the obliques and nearby muscles can feel tight after lots of sitting, twisting, or carrying a bag on one side. When someone says “work the flank,” they’re not asking for the hip joint or the spine; they mean the side wall in that ribs-to-hips span.

Symptom Notes

In medical language, “flank pain” refers to pain on one side of the body between the upper abdomen and the back. That definition shows up in public health references because the area can be linked with the urinary system and other structures in the region. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia on flank pain.

When Flank Pain Needs Medical Care

This section is general information, not a diagnosis. Pain location alone doesn’t tell you the cause. Still, it helps to know what health sources treat as “get checked soon” signs.

MedlinePlus notes that flank pain with fever, chills, blood in the urine, or frequent or urgent urination can point toward a kidney-related problem. The same page also lists other causes because multiple organs and tissues sit in the region. MedlinePlus: “Flank pain”.

Cleveland Clinic describes flank pain as affecting the area on either side of the lower back between the pelvis and ribs, and lists causes that range from muscle strain to urinary tract issues. Cleveland Clinic overview of flank pain.

Use plain language when you describe what you feel: which side, where it starts, whether it spreads, and what else is going on (fever, nausea, urinary changes, rash). That detail helps a clinician sort out next steps faster than “my side hurts.”

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Exercises That Train The Flank Area

If your goal is a stronger side wall of the trunk, pick moves that resist side bending and rotation. You’re training the muscles that stabilize the rib cage over the pelvis.

Side Plank Holds

Start with a knee-down side plank if needed. Keep your ribs from flaring and keep your hip lifted. Hold a time you can control with steady breathing.

Suitcase Carries

Hold a weight in one hand and walk slowly without leaning. Think “tall posture, quiet ribs.” Switch sides and repeat. Stop if you feel sharp pain in the back or hip.

Dead Bug With A Slow Exhale

Lie on your back with knees and arms up. Exhale as you lower one heel and the opposite arm. The side wall tightens as you keep the ribs from popping up.

Training can make the flank area feel firmer and more controlled. Changing body fat distribution is a different topic. Strength work helps posture and stability, and that can change how the midsection looks in clothes.

Simple Recap You Can Do Right Now

• Hands on hips: feel the top ridge of your pelvis.
• Slide fingers upward: feel the lower edge of your ribs.
• The side panel between those borders, drifting slightly toward the back, is the flank.
• Too far forward is side abdomen; too far back is low back near the spine.

Once you’ve found those borders on your own body, “flank” becomes a clear region you can point to and describe without guessing.

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