Laura Frey Law, Ph.D., MPT, MS

Associate Professor

Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Science graduate program

Education, Training & Experience

• 1990 B.S.E. with High Distinction, Biomedical Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
• 1993 M.P.T., Physical Therapy, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
• 1994 M.S., Bioengineering, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
• 2004 Ph.D., Physical Rehabilitation Science, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Research Activities

• Director, NEUROMUSCULAR BIOMECHANICS LABORATORY, Graduate Program in Physical Therapy, College of Medicine.
• Effects of pain and fatigue on motor function
  • Focusing on orthopedic conditions
  • Experimental pain conditions
  • Muscle activation strategies
  • Reflex responses
• Mathematical muscle modeling
  • Paralyzed muscle force estimates
  • Digital Human-Arm Model in collaboration with the Virtual Soldier Research Project
  • Modeling muscle fatigue
• Outcomes Research
  • Lateral epicondylitis
  • Knee osteoarthritis

Teaching Responsibilities

• DPT - Case Based Learning (Facilitator)
• DPT - Selected Topics in PT (101:143)
• DPT - Health Promotion and Wellness (101:205)
• PhD - Biomedical Instrumentation (101:212)

Academic & Professional Activities

• Memberships: APTA (Orthopaedic Section, Research Section, Sports Section), Society for Neuroscience, American College of Sports Medicine, American Society of Biomechanics, International Society of Biomechanics, American Pain Society
• Member of the Virtual Soldier Research team, in the Center for Computer-Aided Design

Recent Publications

• Frey Law LA, Shields RK. Femoral loads during passive, active, and active-resistive stance after spinal cord injury: A mathematical model. Clin Biomech 2004; 19:313-32.
• Shields RK, Dudley-Javoroski S, Frey Law LA. Electrically-induced muscle contractions influence bone density decline after spinal cord injury. Spine 2006; 31:5, 548-53.
• Frey Law LA, Shields RK. Mathematical models use varying parameter strategies to represent paralyzed muscle force properties. J Neuroeng Rehabil 2005; 2:12.
• Frey Law LA, Shields RK. Predicting human chronically paralyzed muscle force: A comparison of three mathematical models. J Appl Physiol 2006;100:3, 1027-36. [Epub Nov 23, 2005]
• Frey Law LA, Shields RK. Mathematical models of human paralyzed muscle after long-term training. J Biomech 2007; 40(12):2587-95. [Epub Feb 19, 2007]
• Rahmatalla S, Xia T, Contratto M, Kopp G, Wilder D, Frey Law L, Ankrum J. 3D motion caputre protocol for seated operator in whole body vibration. Int J Indust Erg 2008; 38(5-6):425-33. [Epub Nov 19, 2007].
• Frey Law LA, Evans S, Knudtson J, Nus S, Scholl K, Sluka KA. Massage reduces pain perception and hyperalgesia in experimental muscle pain: a randomized control trial. J Pain 2008; 9(8):714-21. [Epub May 2, 2008]
• Full CV available here.