The University of Texas football fans got some bad news last week. During a press conference, Coach Strong revealed that quarterback David Ash had made the decision to retire from football. The reason? Multiple concussions.

Ash has repeatedly suffered head injuries. The most recent was during the season opening game against North Texas. But his problems with head injuries began long before that. In fact, concussion kept him out of play for most of last year’s games. According to Coach Strong, Ash had recently consulted with the UT medical staff, and all concurred that retirement from football would be the best option.

Did you know that last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), emergency rooms around the country treated more than 170,000 sports-related brain injuries, including concussions involving young players? And that number doesn’t count the ones who didn’t go to an emergency room.

Concussions are far too common. They are a serious brain injury. We’re learning more all the time about the consequences of ignoring them. Just last week it was reported that one in three retired NFL players is expected to develop long-term cognitive problems earlier than the general population. They’re talking about problems like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

In a great article published last month in Forbes, Chris Smith took an in-depth look at the concussion helmet backstory. Specifically, Smith posed a question about whether better head protection could help solve the NFL’s concussion problem.

As all football fans are aware, head injuries in the NFL have prompted concern and criticism; also a law suit that ended up in a $765 million settlement on behalf of thousands of NFL players. The concussion crisis, as it’s now being called, has prompted a great deal of interest in the development, testing and manufacturing of football helmets designed to provide better protection for players.

So why would a practicing physician who does not play pro football care about the latest news regarding concussions and the NFL?

First the headlines. This week, a federal judge approved compensation for thousands of former NFL players for concussion-related claims. In her ruling, the judge stated that while the lawsuit dragged on for years, “retired players’ physical and mental conditions continue to deteriorate.”

There was a time when bumps to the head got little attention, particularly when they involved young athletes. Parents and coaches alike often considered them par for the course; a temporary condition in which seeing stars would pass with a few sips of water and a brief break from the game. After all, young athletes are incredibly resilient. No blood, no broken bones, no worries. Few understood the drama going on inside the young athlete’s brain or the danger it presented.

That’s changing. Concussion awareness is going global.

Looking at some of the high profile sporting events recently, there has been the usual array of ankle injuries, muscle cramps, bumps, bruises, and concussions. Concussions? In the case of head injuries to high profile athletes, concussions have increasingly become newsworthy injuries, largely because they have the potential to affect a player’s availability in the playoffs, both in the NBA and the NFL, just to name a few.