How the Nervous System Limits Mobility: Understanding Neurological Guarding

When a golfer can’t access a range of motion, the instinct is often to stretch it, mobilize it, or strengthen around it. But what if the joint moves perfectly fine in one position and suddenly feels locked in another?

That’s where understanding neurological guarding becomes critical.

In some cases, loss of mobility isn’t caused by tight tissue, joint restrictions, or structural limitations. Instead, it’s the nervous system doing its job—protecting the body from a perceived threat.

This is an example of a neurological concept called “guarding.”  Dr. Rose explains:

Guarding: The Brain’s Safety System

Guarding is a neurological restriction of movement, not a mechanical one.

After injury, trauma, or repeated stress, the brain may limit motion as a protective strategy, even after tissues have healed and joints are structurally sound. From the nervous system’s perspective, limiting movement is safer than risking re-injury.  As Dr. Rose likes to say, the “brain has shut down the island.”  Even though you may have adequately rehabbed an injury, the brain is not allowing you to go there any more.

This is why golfers can appear “tight” in one posture but suddenly regain motion when their position changes.

That inconsistency is a clue.

Mechanical restrictions are consistent. Neurological restrictions are not.

How to Recognize a Neurological Mobility Loss

There are several characteristics of “guarding” that can help a practitioner identify if a loss of mobility is likely neurological.  Here’s an excerpt from the mobility chapter in the manual for our Fitness Level 2 online course:

The nervous system protects us from perceived threats, and sometimes it restricts mobility as a safety mechanism - even when tissue and joints are fine.

• Guarding is the brain’s way of protecting an injured area. The nervous system restricts motion when it perceives danger, like after a joint tear.

• Neurological restrictions are inconsistent. If someone can’t move in one posture but can in another, it’s likely neurological, not mechanical.

• You can trick the brain to unlock mobility. By changing the sequence or position (e.g., laying down vs. standing), the nervous system may allow the motion.

• Stretch reflexes limit motion to prevent injury. These are triggered by sensors like muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs, which must be desensitized through training.

• Neurological training methods include PNF, motor learning, and reciprocal inhibition. These techniques retrain the brain to allow safe motion.

Why Position Changes Can “Unlock” Motion

One of the most powerful demonstrations of neurological guarding is how quickly mobility can change when position or sequence is altered.

When you change posture - standing to supine, loaded to unloaded - you’re changing the sensory input to the nervous system.

As Dr. Rose demonstrates in the video above, by altering the input you can often reduce perceived threat, allowing the brain to permit motion that was previously restricted.

Assess First. Prescribe Second.

One of our core philosophies applies directly here: 

Assess. Don’t guess.

Loss of mobility does not automatically mean tissue restriction.
Pain-free does not mean motor control has normalized.
Strength restored does not guarantee movement quality.

When mobility improves simply by changing posture or sequence, the nervous system - not the joint - is often in control.

Understanding that difference allows coaches, trainers, and clinicians to choose the most appropriate intervention and improve long-term resilience and performance.