Expertise

Research Interests

  • Gait energetics
  • Gait mechanics
  • Biomechanics

My research takes an interdisciplinary approach and uses advanced analysis methods to investigate the mechanisms of running related overuse injuries and the determinants of running economy. I combine biomechanical data with experimental oxygen consumption and substrate utilization data, both experimentally and via musculoskeletal and muscle energetics models, to comprehensively examine the interaction and importance of gait energetics on injury mechanisms. I also use advanced analysis methods, such as multiscale entropy, wavelet transform, and a modified vector coding technique, to investigate coordinated movement patterns and the motor system's response to interactions with the environment.

Research:

  • Gait Biomechanics
  • Gait Energetics
  • Wearable Technology
  • Footwear Biomechanics

The purpose of the laboratory is to study gait mechanics and running related injuries.

However, there is a lack of consistency between studies regarding the kinematic and kinetic patterns and events that may or may not cause running injuries. 

The research conducted by Dr. Allison Gruber in the IU Biomechanics Laboratory takes an interdisciplinary approach to the mechanical aspects of human movement, with the particular focus on gait, gait energetics, and mechanisms for lower extremity injury.

Communities
Physical Education
Degrees
PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Kinesiology, 2012
MA, East Carolina University, Exercise and Sports Science, 2007
BS, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2004
Keywords
biomechanics
Associations
American College of Sports Medicine
American Society of Biomechanics
International Society of Biomechanics