As of now my team and I are focusing on the types of injuries that we could help prevent and what is already out on the market. Right now we still have to think of a way to protect the shoulder and not just help it lessen the pain after it’s been damaged with the help of pressure which is what most shoulder braces are for. Common shoulder injuries happen from overuse or sudden change in direction which is something that it kind of inevitable when someone is playing football because it is obviously a very active sport so we have to think of a way to give them the protection that is needed without restricting them for moving their arms the way they need to.
It is very difficult to find something protective gear that is already out in the market that isn’t extremely bulky or too thin that it only gives the football player pressure and no protection from impacts. One of the most common shoulder injuries is the dislocation of the shoulder which is when the bone pops out from the socket. Another very common injury to the shoulder is separation and that is when the ligament connecting your collarbone to your shoulder blade either gets stretched or it completely ruptures. A rotator cuff tear is also common, these are 4 ligaments that are together and form a “cuff” that holds your arm in place and gives you mobility.
The image above shows a shoulder dislocation and it’s something we still have to figure out how to prevent and fully understand the anatomy so that we know what we have to protect to prevent from this injury to happen. According to UOA shoulder injuries are some of the most common injuries in the orthopedic practice and even though dislocations are very common there are also a lot of injuries that involve the tendons, ligaments, and muscles and the amount of serious injuries is only increasing. Overhead throwing causes high amounts of stress on the shoulder specially the part of your shoulder that helps it stabilized.
The product our team tested out definitely worked in some ways but it also had a lot of things we need to fix when it comes to our own product. 
There are lot of ways that we can make the device a lot better and I think we are making good progress and I’m sure we will find a way to help prevent further shoulder injuries.
StarPathDesign 
I love how your blog post was extremely informative and well- written, and I feel as if your design would be really great just based off of the background information that your team has gathered. What would you propose your materials to be, since you probably want to make it both protective and comfortable? You should also think about the placement of the device (ex. if it has padding in one are) thus enabling your device to provide the full protection and prevention of injury possible.
I really liked how you included the anatomy behind the shoulder and how is affects the design you guys are focusing on. I was also wondering, How do you plan on making your design different by products that are currently available in the market? – Brianna Plaza