A Nervous System Approach to Better Movement

When you experience an injury, your body initiates a complex protective response. But what happens when that protection overstays its welcome? Understanding how your nervous system processes sensory information can unlock the key to lasting relief from chronic tension and restricted movement.

How Injury Affects Sensory Processing

Your body constantly communicates with your brain through sensory signals. Muscles, joints, and fascia send information about position, tension, and movement. This two-way conversation allows you to move smoothly and safely.

When injury occurs, this communication gets disrupted. The injured tissues send alarm signals to the brain, triggering protective responses:

• Increased muscle guarding around the injured area
• Altered movement patterns to avoid pain
• Heightened sensitivity in the affected region
• Changes in body awareness and proprioception

Over time, even after tissues heal, these protective patterns can persist. Your nervous system continues to interpret normal sensory input as threatening, maintaining muscle tension and movement restrictions long after they’re needed.

The Sensory Mismatch Problem

The brain relies on accurate sensory feedback to determine how much protection is necessary. When this feedback becomes distorted, a mismatch develops between what’s actually happening in your tissues and what your brain perceives.

This sensory mismatch can lead to:

• Chronic muscle tension without physical damage
• Pain in areas that have fully healed (like back pain or neck pain)
• Fear of movement that limits daily activities
• A cycle of tension, restricted movement, and more tension

Why Some Treatments Don’t Stick

If you’ve experienced temporary relief from massage, stretching, or other treatments only to have symptoms return, you’re not alone. This common pattern often occurs because the treatment addressed the symptom (tight muscles) without addressing the underlying cause (sensory miscommunication).

The Limitations of Force-Based Approaches

Traditional approaches often focus on:

• Forceful stretching to lengthen tight muscles
• Deep tissue work (like aggressive manual therapy) to release fascial restrictions
• Strengthening exercises to support weakened areas

While these methods can provide temporary relief, they may inadvertently reinforce the nervous system’s protective response. When the brain perceives input as threatening or aggressive, it may respond with more guarding, not less.

Breaking the Cycle

Lasting change requires addressing the root cause: recalibrating how your nervous system processes and responds to sensory information. This means creating conditions where your brain feels safe enough to release protective tension.

How to Recalibrate Sensory Input

Effective recalibration works with your nervous system rather than against it. Here are six evidence-based methods that help restore healthy sensory processing:

1. Gentle, Non-Threatening Movement

Small, pain-free movements help your nervous system relearn that movement is safe. The key is staying well within comfortable ranges while gradually expanding your movement vocabulary.

• Start with movements that feel easy and effortless
• Focus on quality rather than quantity or intensity
• Notice sensations without judgment
• Progress slowly as your nervous system adapts

2. Body Awareness Practices

Reconnecting with how your body feels helps restore accurate sensory feedback. Simple awareness exercises can significantly improve the brain-body communication loop.

• Practice body scanning to notice areas of tension
• Pay attention to breathing patterns throughout the day
• Notice how emotions affect physical sensations
• Develop curiosity about your body’s signals

3. Graded Exposure

Gradually reintroducing movements or activities that feel threatening helps your nervous system update its protective responses. This approach respects your current limitations while systematically expanding your capabilities.

• Identify movements that feel restricted or fearful
• Break them down into smaller, manageable steps
• Practice each step until it feels comfortable
• Progress to the next level when ready

4. Breathing Techniques

Breath directly influences your nervous system state. Slow, controlled breathing activates the parasympathetic system, signaling safety to your brain and reducing protective tension.

• Practice diaphragmatic breathing daily
• Use extended exhales to promote relaxation
• Notice how breath affects muscle tension
• Integrate breath awareness into movement

5. Sensory Discrimination Training

This approach helps your brain better distinguish between different sensory inputs, improving the accuracy of body awareness and reducing hypersensitivity.

• Practice feeling subtle differences in texture, pressure, or temperature
• Work on identifying exactly where sensations occur
• Improve two-point discrimination in affected areas
• Use mirrors or visualization to enhance body maps

6. Cognitive Reframing

How you think about your body and pain influences your nervous system’s response. Understanding that pain doesn’t always equal damage can help reduce protective overreaction.

• Learn about pain science and nervous system function
• Challenge unhelpful beliefs about your body
• Focus on what you can do rather than limitations
• Cultivate patience with the healing process

Putting It All Together

A nervous system approach to movement isn’t about quick fixes. It’s about creating lasting change by addressing the underlying sensory processing that drives protective patterns. This requires patience, consistency, and working with a practitioner who understands these principles.

At At Ease Physio, we integrate these nervous system concepts into our treatment approach. By combining gentle manual therapy, targeted movement, and education, we help your brain and body restore healthy communication patterns.

Ready to explore a nervous system approach to your movement challenges? Contact us to book an assessment.

References

1. Moseley, G. L., & Butler, D. S. (2017). Explain Pain Supercharged. Noigroup Publications.

2. Hodges, P. W., & Tucker, K. (2011). Moving differently in pain: A new theory to explain the adaptation to pain. Pain, 152(3), S90-S98.

3. Nijs, J., et al. (2021). Treatment of central sensitization in patients with chronic pain: Time for change? Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, 22(16), 2107-2117.

4. Louw, A., et al. (2016). The clinical application of teaching people about pain. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 32(5), 385-395.

5. Wallwork, S. B., et al. (2016). Neural representations and the cortical body matrix: Implications for sports medicine and future directions. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(16), 990-996.