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KS bill allows chiropractors to clear athletes

Posted at 6:41 PM, Feb 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-23 19:42:02-05

Whether it’s football, soccer, basketball or wrestling, the risk of your child getting a concussion goes up. Now, Kansas lawmakers want to make it easier to get your child back on the court.

A new Kansas bill would allow chiropractors to sign off on student-athlete returns following a concussion.

Signs of concussions:

  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • Dizziness
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Shallow breathing
  • Light and sound sensitivity
  • Confusion
  • Loss of consciousness

Current state law allows doctors and chiropractors to perform physicals before a sports season as well as diagnose concussions off of the field. Yet when it comes to green-lighting athletes to return after concussions, only medical doctors can do so.

“If someone were to have a concussion and then have another concussion, our fear is Sudden Impact Syndrome that can result in death or severe cognitive problems or brain injury,” said Michael Moncure, the trauma director at the University of Kansas Hospital. “I think clearance really needs to be done by someone who is trained with not just the physical body but the mind.”

The Kansas House passed the bill Tuesday. Lawmakers who voted in favor of expanding return rights say it will help student athletes who live in the rural parts of the state who do not have access to trauma doctors.

The bill still needs to go to the Senate for a vote.

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