Yang 2010

Methods	RCT in parallel‐group design Method of randomisation: drawing lots out of an envelope Blinding of outcome assessors: yes Adverse events: not reported Deaths: none Drop outs: none ITT: yes
Participants	Country: Taiwan 18 participants (10 in EXP group, 8 in CTL group) Mean age: 55 to 57 years (CTL and EXP group respectively) Inclusion criteria: diagnosis with unilateral hemiparesis due to stroke with < 6 months or > 12 months post stroke, being able to follow simple verbal commands Exclusion criteria: unstable medical conditions, history of other diseases interfering with the study, history of seizure, severe cardiovascular conditions/pacemaker
Interventions	4 arms: EXP group 1 with patients < 6 months post stroke received body weight supported treadmill training for 30 minutes followed by 20 minutes general exercise programme, 3 times per week for 4 weeks (150 minutes per week) CTL group 1 with patients < 6 months post stroke received the general exercise programme for 50 minutes, 3 times per week for 4 weeks (150 minutes per week) EXP group 2 with patients > 12 months post stroke received body weight supported treadmill training for 30 minutes followed by 20 minutes general exercise programme, 3 times per week for 4 weeks (150 minutes per week) CTL group 2 with patients > 12 months post stroke received the general exercise programme for 50 minutes, 3 times per week for 4 weeks (150 minutes per week)
Outcomes	Outcomes were recorded at baseline and at the end of the intervention phase Primary outcomes: motor threshold and cortical map size Secondary outcomes: lower limb function (FMA)
Notes	We combined the experimental groups and compared them with the combined controlled groups
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not described
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	Drawing lots out of an envelope
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Outcome assessor was blinded