The Dallas Cowboys start training camp Monday, and it won't be long before Texas high school football players take the field.
A new state law has changed the rules on who can make the call to take a player out of the game. Chiropractors will now have the authority to pull a player out immediately if they see signs of a concussion.
It’s not just football. House Bill 3024 applies to any student participating in an interscholastic athletic activity. The chiropractor will now legally join the coach, a physician and a licensed health care professional to make that call.
"So what this law does is it fixes something that in 2011, the legislature when they created, 'Natasha's Law,' it created some ambiguity, some uncertainty as to whether chiropractors had the authority to remove a player from play when they suspected concussion,” said Dr. Tyce Hergert, Former president of the Texas Chiropractic Association. “This law simply fixes that oversight."
Hergert said in some cases, he’s seen athletes months after they’ve sustained a concussion.
Hergert said chiropractors receive specific education and training that allows them to identify the signs and symptoms, which include blurred vision, headaches, and dizziness.
Reports show, every year in the United States, more than 300,000 high school athletes suffer from a concussion.
