The aim of this study was to evaluate the curative effects on muscle function and proprioception in patients with chronic lumbar disk herniation (LDH) using two kinds of kinesitherapies: isokinetic trunk muscle strength training and core muscle training. Eighty patients with clinical features of lumbar disk herniation were randomly divided into treatment and control groups (40 patients in each group). All participants were given routine rehabilitation treatment, including interferential electrotherapy, microwave therapy, lumbar traction treatment, and other physical therapies. The treatment group received isokinetic trunk muscle strength training, while the control group received core muscle training, both lasting for 8 weeks, three times per week. Improvement in patient motor and sensory function, before and after treatment, was evaluated using lower back pain standard scoring criteria of Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and visual analogue scale (VAS). After 8 weeks of continuous training, trunk muscle strength evaluation indexes of the patients in the two groups significantly increased, compared to before treatment. Moreover, JOA, ODI and VAS scores suggested that both treatments could significantly improve lumbar function concerning trunk muscle strength, rehabilitation evaluation of lumbar function, and lumbar proprioception assessment. Furthermore, the ontology sense test indicated that the absolute error value of proprioception was reduced after both routine rehabilitation treatment and isokinetic trunk muscle strength training treatment. In conclusion, this study showed that isokinetic trunk muscle strength training could improve proprioception in patients with chronic lumbar disk herniation. It also enhanced muscle function, compared with core muscle training.

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