[FartyMcFarter]

Handstands definitely work the shoulders.

There's a reason why handstand pushups (often done against a wall for muscle-building/strength purposes) are considered an advanced shoulder exercise. It's sort of the calisthenics equivalent of the overhead press.

[2muchcoffeeman]

I didn’t say they didn’t. But that won’t be the main source of injury. There are smaller and weaker muscles in the chain if you want to achieve a free standing handstand and not just lean on a wall inverted.

Do free floating handstands for time and see what hurts more.