Have your hands tied Neutral

To be unable to act freely because rules, obligations or circumstances restrict your options.

The image is literal restraint: a person whose hands are tied cannot perform ordinary tasks or defend themselves effectively. English uses this concrete limitation to describe restrictions imposed by rules, contracts, orders or circumstances. Someone may want to help but have their hands tied by policy. The phrase usually communicates lack of choice rather than lack of skill or courage. Similar images appear in several European languages because bound hands are a readily understood symbol of powerlessness; their similarity alone does not establish a single borrowing route. In everyday speech the hands are figurative, not physically restrained.

I’d like to help, but my hands are tied by company policy.

The manager’s hands were tied by the contract.

Without approval, our hands are tied.