Just curious if anyone utilizes shoulder braces to prevent injury while working. I don't have any injury or pain but have read a lot about it happening. I know athletes like tennis players and baseball players use tape and braces to prevent joint damage was wondering if any smiths do the same.https://www.google.com/search?q=shoulder+brace&client=ms-android-verizon&espv=1&tbm=isch&tbo=u&sboxchip=Images&source=univ&sa=X&ei=0F5MVLnVCKmQigKy14GYAw&ved=0CFAQ7Ak

A lot of joint pain can be prevented if the muscles on each side of the joint are equal, by that I mean both sides of the joint worked the same - as in biceps / triceps.

I fully agree proper fitness is the first line of defense.

I guess in my mind I'm relating it to boxers taping there wrists.

I suffered from shoulder and neck pain for 20 yrs. progressively getting worse each yr. One day while unloading my truck I had a warming flowing feeling down my arm and very little strength in it. After a hurried visit to Doc. wife thought it was a heart attack I ended up at an Ortho surgeon who discovered bone spires had cut through the bicep tendon on that side. Well an operation on both sides over the next 3 months and a number of months of rehab no more neck or shoulder pain. Both shoulders were found to have the spires. If there is pain it isn't always muscle related.

I have/had bone spurs in both my shoulders too; I didn't know it until I used a scythe to clean up my yard and the different motions brought them to my attention.  1 quieted down with an injection the other didn't and was removed laparoscopically---Dr apologized for not having a picture of it in situ---said it was too large to get it all in the camera lens.  The other quieted down with the injection and so was left alone in sort of  an unexploded ordnance type of thing.  On the bright side he said my rotor cuff was in fine shape on the one he operated on. On the dark side he said the other one looked larger but as it wasn't causing problems...

Man that does not sound fun, I watched a video of my friends rotator surgery and it looked painful. They also had to reattach his bicep. I tape my wrists at work sometimes when I know I will be putting a lot of stress on them.