AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF News) — Texas is about to embark on the nation’s largest effort to track brain injuries among young athletes.
Two dozen high school sports will be tracked for a project to determine if rules and equipment changes can improve player safety. Texas has more than 800,000 public high school athletes. Officials hope the study will be a key in creating a national database of brain injuries.
Dr. Munro Cullum, professor of neurology and neurotherapeutics at the University of Texas Southwestern O’Donnell Brain Institute will lead the project in partnership with the University Interscholastic League. Cullum told the New York Times, “Until we understand what the frequency of concussions is across the state, or a region of the state, we can’t determine when rule changes, equipment changes or things like recovery programs are really being effective”.
