From the Clinic: Neurological Tightness

Neurological Tightness

We have discussed the concept of 'Neurological Tightness' in both our subscriber videos and in greater detail within our ongoing adductor case. This is a behaviour of the central nervous system (CNS) is familiar to strength practitioners working in clinical settings, as it is encountered on a regular basis. However, for those without clinical experience who primarily work in the weight room, this phenomenon may not be familiar at all.

To bridge this knowledge gap, I have captured a recent case of Neurological Tightness in the adductor group on video. Our intent is for this visual aid to provide practitioners of all experience levels with a real life example of this CNS behaviour. This ensures that our subscribers gain a more comprehensive understanding of the topics and cases presented to transition them into actionable information they use in their practice.

Note: 'Neurological Tightness' is Functional Range Systems nomenclature and is taught in the FR courses.

Neurological Tightness: Adductor Group

In our ongoing adductor case study, we've extensively discussed the concept of Neurological Tightness. On a superficial level, Neurological Tightness is an inappropriate tolerance of the nervous system to further passive tissue length. There is a discrepancy between the length that is passively required and the neurological representation of that length. When this discrepancy exists, the nervous system, as a result of the duality of input and output will limit access to further length by creating “activation” of the lengthening muscles. Effectively this contraction creates a stop order to further passive range.

We've emphasized in our last update that: 'Neurological Tightness becomes visually evident, palpable to the assessing practitioner, and acknowledged by the athlete.' The video above illustrates this behavior, where you can observe NT that is: visually evident, palpable, and acknowledged by the individual. By watching the video, you can witness firsthand how this CNS behavior serves as a limiting constraint to gain access to the joint, connective tissue and muscle tissue.

This is why we have used the nomenclature that the CNS is the gatekeeper. In this particular case, as in all others, you can observe how the CNS is acting as a gatekeeper to the system and is limiting the athlete from accessing other trainable ecologies. This highlights the importance of addressing this CNS behavior before work for any of the other ecologies is commenced.

Strategies to Address & Resolve Neurological Tightness: Conjugate in the Clinic