American College of Sports' Medicine Evolving Position Stands

Great to hear that that august body of sport in North America, the ACSM, views ongoing discussion and the production of evidence in the field establishing itself as an authoritative reference body for contemporary knowledge.


The ACSM has now suggested that it is serious about retaining a leadership position in evidence-based sports' medicine by recruiting an 'evidence-methods' specialist by the name of Lynette Craft PhD of Northwestern University. The hope is therefore that ACSM becomes a contemporary resource for media & clinicians as well as researchers through their evolving Position Stands and Joint Position Statements which are free to the public online (ACSM Position Stands link).

The Position Stand on Exercise and Fluid Replacement is under discussion since the  publication of Tim Noakes' new book on hydration ('Waterlogged: The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports') raised fresh concerns on hyponatremia & excessive fluid intake and there looks to be promise that reviews of this Position Stand will be considered as a result.


We can all look forward to the future and the prospects of this form of evolution and reflective practice affecting everyone involved in sports' medicine.

As Victorinox adapts the Swiss Army Knife post 9/11 is the brain just like the flagship product?

Victorinox, the makers of the famous 'Swiss Army Knife' have adapted to life since increasing aircraft security. This got me thinking about a piece on BBC earlier in the year on how the brain could be seen possibly like a Swiss Army Knife too!

It is certainly adaptable, but there were other aspects to the interview with Nancy Kanwisher of the Institute for Brain Research examining the different activities of the brain in different compartment-a little like the commonly seen multipurpose knife.


Is the brain like a Swiss Army Knife? audio


The pocket knife with multifarious uses was actually patented back in the 19th Century by Karl Elsener when he and his mother had to start a cutlery company to handle an order from the Swiss Army (which from memories of a visit to the Military Tattoo a few years back was not an extensive army at all, and consisted of an entertainment troupe of drumming jugglers s far as could be seen from their appearance in Edinburgh). The company actually still counts the Swiss amongst a dozen armies as clients.


The name Victorinox was also an adaptation of his mother's name, and the French term for 'Stainless Steel'. Remarkably they still manufacture 35000 knives PER DAY, despite the crackdown on security following terrorist activities in 2001 which had an immediate effect of a 30% drop in sales.


The company has had to adapt by creating versions within its brand, including items such as MP3players & a 1TB flash drive within its standard red clasp & a 'Flight' production of their classic design.


So is the brain just like one of the Victorinox classics, with different parts available for different tasks in quite separate compartments, or is it a single purpose tool as suggested in the interview piece? Certainly the brain is adaptable-less of a surprise than hearing that the a company starting out as a cutlery company then received iconic name for a multi-purpose tool based around a knife should now hail sales of around 50% of its total worth as coming from new product categories!