Hi Ash,

You've provided a strong concept and I understand the want to create better shoulder braces to aid athletes and everyday people with recovery.

Shoulder braces being used for recovery is a key aspect in rehabilitating the joint. It provides stability to the surrounding tissue and reduces pain in the joint. The support limits possible harmful movements to the shoulder during healing. These braces can also be used as a preventative measure by correcting the shoulder positioning and strength (Chiu et al. 2020). However these braces don’t replace the quality care that you can get from rehabilitation as it does not restore strength to the shoulder and can cause a dependency and muscle weakness over time. 

The inclusion of both heating and cooling integration is a great idea. Cold and hot therapy have shown to help speed the healing process in muscle injuries. However, there currently isn’t a clear protocol on how this temperature therapy should be undertaken and only showing short term results with healing (Malanga, Yan & Stark 2015). Further clinical research needs to be done to show the quality of the healing from hot and cold therapy. 

Similar to the hot and cold therapy integration, compression is a wonderful proposal and has shown healing and improvement in self prescribed healing however, the evidence in its efficacy is inconsistent and can cause further damage if done incorrectly. 

The focus on accessibility and equity is incredibly important. Proposing a design that covers more than the average person is incredibly important with inclusive design principles. Making sure that the brace actually fits is important in effectively helping an injury. Braces are also usually cost-effective and scalable, making production and purchasing affordable for these with low SES. The only downside would be the integration of the other elements often increase production costs, which has a flow on effect to the consumer price. 

Your current proposal is strong but the evidence around the inclusion just isn't there yet. Reframing the function and simplifying usability would be a great way to move this forward. This is still a very important topic to cover as people get injured all the time but life doesn't slow down.

Chiu, YC, Tsai, YS, Shen, CL, Wang, TG, Yang, JL, Lin, JJ 2020, ‘The immediate effects of a shoulder brace on muscle activity and scapular kinematics in subjects with shoulder impingement syndrome and rounded shoulder posture: A randomized crossover design.’ Gait Posture. Vol 79, pg 162-169. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2020.04.028