FEATURED: Dr. Luis “Louie” G. Alamia, PT, DPT, reports that the Rio Grande Valley State Legislative Delegation recently voted for House Bill 1002, which is designed to protect public and private high school student-athletes who have suffered a concussion during sports activities. The measure is awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s approval, who is likely to sign it into law.
Photograph Courtesy DR. LUIS “LOUIE” G. ALAMIA
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State lawmakers approve plan to further protect high school student-athletes who have suffered a concussion, which can have physical, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional health consequences, reports Dr. Luis “Louie” G. Alamia, PT, DPT
By DAVID A. DÍAZ
[email protected]
With more than 800,000 students participating in high school sports, the Texas Legislature has sent to the governor a measure that would allow public and private high schools to provide more licensed medical professionals, such as chiropractors or physical therapists, to protect those athletes who have suffered a concussion during sports activities, according to Dr. Luis “Louie” G. Alamia, PT, DPT.
https://www.facebook.com/VoteAlamia/
A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury – or TBI – caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that uses the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement can cause the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes in the brain and sometimes and damaging brain cells, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
https://www.cdc.gov/headsup/basics/concussion_whatis.html
“As a medical professional, member of the Board of Trustees for the Edinburg school district, father of a young daughter, and as a sports fan, I know how important it is to provide for the safety of all our young people,” said Alamia. “This is important legislation, which was supported by the Rio Grande Valley state legislative delegation, and another step in the right direction for our society.”
Legislation is a proposed or enacted law or group of laws.
Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo, is the author of the plan, known as House Bill 1002. It still requires Gov. Greg Abbott to sign it into law.
The author is the legislator who files a bill and guides it through the legislative process (also called the primary author).
A bill is a type of legislative measure that requires passage by both the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives and action by the governor in order to become effective. A bill is the primary means used to create and change the laws of the state.
With overwhelming support in House of Representative and the Senate, the governor is likely to approve it.
“As concussions continue to impact high school student-athletes across the state and nation, House Bill 1002 would change part of the state education code that discusses concussions and the members of schools’ concussion oversight teams, according to a bill analysis of House Bill 1002,” Alamia noted.
According to TEC Section 38.153:
The governing body of each school district and open-enrollment charter school with students enrolled who participate in an interscholastic athletic activity shall appoint or approve a concussion oversight team.
Each concussion oversight team shall establish a return-to-play protocol, based on peer- reviewed scientific evidence, for a student’s return to interscholastic athletics practice or competition following the force or impact believed to have caused a concussion.
The bill analysis of House Bill 1002 also included the following additional background:
• A concussion oversight team is in charge of establishing return-to-play protocols for students in interscholastic athletics following an impact believed to have caused a concussion;
• Currently, each team must include at least one athletic trainer, advanced practice nurse, neuropsychologist and physician assistant; and
• House Bill 1002 provides for the inclusion of a licensed chiropractor or physical therapist on a concussion oversight team and expands the list of persons with authority to remove a student from practice or competition following a concussion.
A bill analysis is a document prepared for all bills and joint resolutions reported out of committee that includes background information on all bills, a statement of purpose or intent, and an analysis of the content of the measure.
According to the University Interscholastic League, which provides leadership and guidance to public school athletic and debate teachers:
• Concussions received by participants in sports activities are an ongoing concern at all levels. Recent interest and research in this area has prompted reevaluations of treatment and management recommendations from the high school to the professional level; and
• Numerous state agencies throughout the U.S. responsible for developing guidelines addressing the management of concussion in high school student-athletes have developed or revised their guidelines for concussion management.
https://www.uiltexas.org/files/health/UIL_HB2038_Information_edited.pdf
Individuals and the organizations they represent who testified or registered on House Bill 1001 when it went before the House Committee on Public Education and the Senate Committee on Education are:
House Committee on Education
March 14, 2023
Registered For:
• Will Lawson, Self, and the Texas Chiropractic Association.
Registered For, But Not Testifying:
• Alejandro Peña, the Texas American Federation of Teachers (TAFT); and
• Craig Tounget, Executive Director, Texas Physical Therapy Association
Registered On: (They were resources witnesses to answer any questions from committee members):
• Eric Marín, Attorney, Texas Education Agency; and
• Mónica Martínez, Associate Commissioner, Standards and Programs, Texas Education Agency.
Senate Committee on Education
May 11, 2023
Registered For, But not Testifying:
• Raif Calvert, Assistant Director, Texas Association of School Boards;
• Suzi Kennon, President, Texas PTA;
• Joshua Massingill, Self, Texas Chiropractic Association; and
• Craig Tounget, Executive Director, Texas Physical Therapy Association.
Registered On: (They were resources witnesses to answer any questions from committee members):
• Shawn Hall Lecuona. Word of God;
• Eric Marín, Attorney, Texas Education Association; and
• Mónica Martínez, Associate Commissioner, Standards and Programs, Texas Education Agency.
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=88R&Bill=HB1002
Concussions can have a compounding effect on children, leading to long-term cognitive, behavioral, and emotional health consequences, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), who published their findings in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.
In 2017, approximately 2.5 million high school students in the United States reported suffering at least one concussion related to sports or physical activity in the last 12 months, according to information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The UTHealth researchers analyzed survey data from more than 13,000 high school students in the United States. According to the authors, it is the first study to report on the association between sports-related concussions and negative health implications based on a representative sample of U.S. high school students.
“We have previously speculated that children who suffer a concussion have more behavioral problems, so this study was able to provide a more comprehensive analysis on the various cognitive and behavioral health issues that this population faces in connection with this type of brain injury,” said Gregory Knell, PhD, the study’s first and corresponding author.
Knell is an assistant professor at UTHealth School of Public Health in Dallas and is research faculty at Children’s Health Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.
A concussion is the most common form of traumatic brain injury, caused by a mild blow to the head.
Common symptoms include a headache, ringing in the ears, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, drowsiness, and blurry vision.
Participants were asked how many times they had suffered a concussion from playing a sport or during physical activity in the last 12 months.
Students were also surveyed on relevant cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors and related health outcomes, including questions on topics such as academics, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse.
The study revealed that 14.5 percent of female high school athletes and 18.1 percent of male high school athletes reported experiencing at least one concussion the previous year.
These students also reported at least one factor associated to their behavioral, cognitive, and emotional health. The questions covered topics such as difficulty concentrating, poor grades, drinking and driving, carrying a weapon, getting into a physical altercation, using tobacco or marijuana, binge drinking, feeling depressed, and having suicidal thoughts or actions.
Of the male participants who suffered at least one concussion, 33.8 percent reported they drank and drove in the last 30 days.
For the female athletes who reported suffering more than one concussion, 19 percent stated they had used marijuana at least once in the last 30 days.
Both male and female participants who answered that they had been in at least one physical fight in the last year were significantly more likely to have reported having at least one concussion in that same timeframe.
Other associated factors that were significantly more likely in male students who reported a prior concussion included difficulty concentrating, tobacco/e-cigarette use, and binge drinking.
Female students who reported prior concussions were more likely to ride in a car with a driver who had been drinking, and have suicidal thoughts or actions.
“Parents need to understand that a concussion is a very serious brain injury, one which requires treatment every time a concussion is sustained.
This study has revealed this type of traumatic brain injury can have a compounding effect on children that could lead to more aggressive behavior, academic problems, and social issues,” said study co-author Scott Burkhart, PsyD, a neuropsychologist at Children’s Health Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.
The research team encourages future studies to continue the surveillance on the prevalence of concussions among student athletes, as well as the severity of these injuries.
UTHealth co-authors included Sarah E. Messiah, PhD; John D. Polousky, MD; and Harold W. Kohl III, PhD. Todd J. Caze, PhD, of the Children’s Health Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine was also a co-author.
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Wendi Hawthorne contributed to this article. For more on this and other Texas legislative news stories that affect the Rio Grande Valley metropolitan region, please log on to Titans of the Texas Legislature (TitansoftheTexasLegislature.com).
