## 2 Materials and Methods  
### Study Design, Participants, Intervention, and Assessment  
The study included patients from the Neuro-rehabilitation Ward of the Provincial Hospital in Poznan, Poland. The patients were admitted for rehabilitation following ischemic strokes. The study was conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki, CONSORT guidelines [17] and the Guidelines for Designing and Evaluating Feasibility Pilot Studies [18]. The local Ethics Committee approved the study protocol (No. 978/22 and 849/22). To be eligible for the study, participants had to be 60 years of age or older and would have suffered an ischemic stroke within a maximum of two weeks prior to their admission. Patients with severe functional impairment, as indicated by a Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score of less than 37, a history of previous strokes, or other neurological diseases or conditions that could significantly impair functioning were excluded from the study. Additional exclusion criteria included contraindications to magnetotherapy, the inability to establish logical, verbal communication, and the lack of informed consent to participate. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group, referred to as MT1, received magnetotherapy to the head in addition to standard neurological rehabilitation, with the intervention consisting of 10 sessions of low-frequency magnetotherapy (40 Hz, 5 mT) over 10 consecutive days, excluding weekends. The second group, MT2, received a similar intervention, but the magnetotherapy was applied to the pelvis rather than the head. The study employed a magnetotherapy protocol, including the dosage and application schedule, consistent with those used in studies conducted by other authors investigating the effects of this type of stimulation on post-stroke patients [19; 20]. Although the coil is designed to maximize the effective delivery of the therapeutic dose to the patient, great care should be taken when positioning the patient during therapy. In particular, it is essential to ensure that the area intended for magnetotherapy exposure is precisely centered within the coil to achieve optimal treatment efficacy. Finally, the control group participants received only standard neurological rehabilitation without any additional magnetotherapy. The Magnetronic MF10 (EiE Elektronika i Elektromedycyna, Otwock, Poland) was used to deliver electromagnetic field stimulation. Regardless of group assignment, each study participant underwent neurological rehabilitation consisting of 120 min of exercise daily, six days a week. In addition to this, patients also participated in occupational therapy sessions, which were held six days a week for approximately 30 min each day. This consistent rehabilitation regimen was designed to support recovery and improve functional outcomes following a stroke. The study design is presented in Figure 1.  
The study utilized several standardized assessment tools to evaluate various aspects of the participants' functional recovery and mobility. The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) assessed the level of independence in performing daily activities such as self-care, mobility, and communication. Scores on the FIM range from 18 to 126, with higher  
Figure 1: Study design. (**A**) Schematic presentation of the experimental design, (**B**) presentation of differences in application of magnetotherapy between MT1 and MT2 group. Source: Authors’ own. scores reflecting greater independence [21]. The Barthel Index measured the ability to perform basic activities of daily living, including feeding, bathing, dressing, and mobility, with scores ranging from 0 to 20, where a higher score indicates greater independence [22; 23]. The Tinetti Scale evaluated balance and gait to help determine the risk of falling, with scores ranging from 0 to 28, where lower scores signify a higher risk of falls [24].