A Small Introduction

My name is Dr Micha Bahr and I am a paediatric surgeon and manual physician. In my blog, I write about the medical aspects of mountain sports and give tips on what to look out for when hiking. I've always spent a lot of time in the great outdoors, I've always enjoyed travelling, road cycling and mountain biking and was active in the stunt kite scene for a long time. I got into hiking and mountain sports through my wife. We were newly married when she suggested I go on holiday to the Allgäu. I agreed more out of love than out of interest in the Allgäu and discovered a second love: the mountains.

When our children came along, we needed new equipment for them. It soon became apparent that there weren't many good things for the young mountain enthusiasts. Initially, however, we started to develop school bags with Deuter. Later, we worked on modifying the children's carriers and also specifically the carrying systems for adults.

In the search for the perfect hiking boot for children, I then knocked on LOWA's door. We started the development work together and promptly came up with a pretty good shoe. At least that's what the kids who wore it said. It's now in its second generation and has become really cool and grown up. In between, I also spend a bit of time looking at adult shoes and we talk a lot about the biomechanics of hiking.

As I have had the opportunity to study the functions of the body, I want to pass this on to others who enjoy being in nature just as much. I have always considered this a great gift. Maybe now I can even help people to be safer outdoors.

One of my favourite topics is the biomechanics of hiking. There is still very little literature on this, which is really exciting because the DAV is one of the largest clubs in Germany and there are far more hikers than shot-putters, for example. However, if you compare the literature on the biomechanics of hiking with the biomechanics of shot-putting, it is clear that shot-putting has been much better researched.

This is mainly due to the fact that shot put is an Olympic discipline and very technical. In addition, not everyone throws a shot put every day, whereas running and walking, which is ultimately what hiking is all about, is an everyday form of locomotion. The fact that problems can still occur is something that everyone has certainly experienced painfully at some point. That's why we will cover many such topics here.

However, we also want to focus on safety when hiking. Good and correct footwear is the basic prerequisite for a successful day in the great outdoors. I will also explain why it is not uncool to walk on poles and why the right rolling behaviour and good cushioning are important to protect and maintain the musculoskeletal system.

As mentioned above, I would also be delighted to have a lively discussion and answer any questions you may have. These may also be questions about the right children's shoe for the next outing. If everything works as planned, I will post one or two new articles per month as required. Maybe also from a tour that was particularly nice.

Best regards

Micha