Assessment of primary and secondary outcomes
RTT
After initial screening and inclusion into the study, baseline data (T0) were collected on the day of the first intervention, directly before treatment in a supine position. For patients in the RTT groups data were collected while the patient was already on the device but still in a horizontal position (< 30°) without FES. For the patients in the control group (CPT) data were collected in bed on the ward. The second time point of the study examination (T1) was during verticalization of the first intervention day. Patients were in a vertical (> 60°) upright position for 15–30 min before data was collected. To assess the direct effect of verticalization, data were collected subsequently after this first verticalization, again in a supine, horizontal position (< 30°; T2). The next day after the eighth day of the intervention, data were collected (T3) as well as after the sixteenth day, which was the day after the last session of the intervention (T4). Six months after study inclusion, follow-up data were collected to investigate long-term effects (T5). This last data collection took place at the patients' home.