(Newswire.net — October 26, 2018) — Texas officials are requiring the state’s largest schools to start reporting concussions suffered by high school athletes. The effort is an attempt to help gather information and track brain injuries of young athletes.
Texas has 825,000 high school athletes, and individual concussion reports will now be required for all individual concussions.
“Children’s sports injuries account for almost 2.5 million visits to hospital emergency rooms,” claims lvaccident.com. Concussions are some of the most concerning. Many players wind up back on the field too early, leading to further brain injuries.
Staff members will be provided with more than a dozen questions, which all must be answered when the athlete is injured. The requirement includes all schools that are designated Class 6A UIL. All of the information, including how the contact occurred and when the incident occurred, will be given to the O’Donnell Brain Institute at the University of Taxes Southwestern Medical Center.
The Brain Institute will study the data, which comes from the largest brain-related program in the country.
Concussions have come into the spotlight in recent years, with all 50 states incorporating new rules or laws that remove players that are suspected to have a concussion from the field. Texas’ mandate will go into effect in August, and smaller schools can also provide data on a voluntary basis.
Michigan is the only other state with a similar program that requires mandatory reporting of all concussions.
Concussion frequency is the primary goal of the reporting. The CDC suggests that there are 3.8 million concussions annually that occur due to athletic-related injuries. But researchers claim that this figure is likely much lower than the number of actual concussions sustained annually. The figure only includes injuries that result in emergency room visits. Many athletes never go to the emergency room despite suffering from concussions.
Information may also be used to better protect athletes. Different turf meant to help reduce concussions is an example, with data from the school able to be provided to show that the turf is either working or not working to reduce head injuries.
The law does little to prevent concussions, notes researchers. The data will provide researchers with more information on concussions after they occur, but it’s up to the UIL to make positive changes to reduce concussions. So far, little has been done to prevent athletes from receiving their initial concussion, which can have a life-long impact on the player’s life in and outside of sports.