In Massage Today, Ben Benjamin explains how to determine whether that lingering pain you’re experiencing is being caused by a muscle injury or ligament injury.

The best way to differentiate, he explains, is through an assessment.  One assessment involves resisted range of motion, while the other involves passive range of motion.  A resisted test, where the therapist applies counter pressure to the movement, shows injury to the muscle, as both the muscles and their tendons are put under stress in order to complete the action.  A passive test, on the other hand, engages the structures that do not initiate movement, one of which is ligaments.  During the passive test, the client gently allows their body to go into the range of motion without any muscles being exerted.  If pain is experienced during a passive test, it points to an injury to the ligament.

To read more about this and to see an assessment example, please visit: Muscles v. Ligaments.