For a brief overview, tendons attach muscle to bone, while ligaments attach bone to bone. Bones generally heal within eight weeks, but if a muscle is torn or a tendon strained, the recovery time is much longer. When trauma occurs to an area of the body, such as a Thai kick to the thigh or a joint lock, inflammation may result. The acute stage lasts up to 48 hours after the injury. During this time, the tissues are inflamed.
Clinical symptoms are pain, heat, redness, swelling, and dysfunction.
The area cannot be worked on by a massage therapist, but I would suggest very light feather strokes superficially on the skin surface to stimulate blood flow, thereby speeding up the healing process, and to assist you in visualizing the area being healed. The next stage of inflammation is the subacute stage which lasts from 48-72 hours after the injury. The tissues of the body are repairing and healing themselves with collagen, which is like cement. Symptoms include pain, dysfunction, and swelling, resulting in compromised technique. Massage treatment would include R.I.C.E. and circulatory strokes to decrease the swelling and increase circulation.