Concussions used to be considered "part of doing business" for those who participated in sports at all levels. The idea of "shaking it off and getting back in there" was so deeply ingrained in our sports culture that it was often seen as a sign of commitment to the team. Yet during recent decades, evidence of irreversible brain injury began piling up, showing that concussions were not a relatively benign side effect of sports, but were life-altering, and sometimes fatal injuries that had been underestimated for years. In this book, the American Council on Science and Health examines changes in the awareness, prevention, and treatment of an injury that is becoming more and more recognized as the serious health threat that it is. The American Council on Science and Health is a consumer education consortium concerned with issues related to food, nutrition, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle, the environment and health. It was founded in 1978 by a group of scientists concerned that many important public policies related to health and the environment did not have a sound scientific basis. These scientists created the organization to add reason and balance to debates about public health issues and bring common sense views to the public.