By adopting a local QFT framework one can derive in a non-perturbative manner the constraints imposed by Poincaré symmetry on the form factors appearing in the Lorentz covariant decomposition of the energy-momentum tensor matrix elements. In particular, this approach enables one to prove that these constraints are in fact independent of the internal properties of the states appearing in the matrix elements. Here we outline the rationale behind this approach, and report on some of the implications of these findings.