Restrictive Barrier is defined as?

• A. A factor that restricts or limits motion
• B. Perceived quality of motion as barrier approached
• C. The range between barriers
• D. A functional limit that abnormally diminishes the normal physiological range of motion

Answer: (D)

In motion testing, barriers to movement are categorized as physiologic, anatomic, and restrictive. A restrictive barrier is a functional limit that abnormally diminishes the normal physiological range of motion. It reflects a change in how the body operates without a fixed structural block, often due to tissue texture changes, muscle hypertonicity, or other somatic dysfunctions that pull the ROM inward from its normal limits.

This is the best choice because it captures the idea of a functional restriction that reduces the normal physiology of movement, unlike a general factor that merely limits motion, a perceived quality as you approach a barrier, or the range between barriers—which describe something other than the specific functional restriction at issue.