Muscle strains or ligament strains can be distinguished by the following aspects: 1. Location. Muscle strains often occur in the muscle belly, which is the more inflated part of the limb, the more muscular area, this part of the painful injury, generally muscle strains. The ligaments are located around the joints and play a role in stabilizing the joints, and there are not many muscles around the joints, so the injury and pain in this case is considered a ligament strain. 2, accompanying symptoms. Muscle strain in the muscle contraction activities, will produce obvious pain, there may be no movement of the limb, just muscle contraction caused by pain symptoms, ligament strain is generally accompanied by changes in the posture of the limb, joint activity to produce obvious pain, the ligament is relatively superficial, ligament serious injury will lead to local bruising, bruising. Muscle injuries tend to be deeper due to fascial coverage and muscle location, and subcutaneous ecchymosis rarely occurs.