A Collegiate Athlete’s Triumph Over Low Back Injury: Perseverance is the Name of Her Game

Dr. Rita Roy: Hi everyone. My name is Dr. Rita Roy, CEO at the National Spine Health Foundation. And I’m your host for the Get Back to It podcast, where we tell real stories of healing and recovery. What does it mean to get back to it? It means overcoming injury through treatments that work in order to return to the people and activities you love, whatever that looks like for you.

It means getting back to your life. We’re here to share the success stories of those who did just that. And some of these stories. You’re not going to believe

at the get back to it podcast. Our goal is to tell stories of spinal champions who’ve been able to achieve a better quality of life through spinal health care. In today’s episode, I’m delighted to be speaking with Jenna Bendinelli, who was managing a prior injury to her low back from 2016. Quite well, until many years later, when she experienced a familiar deep pain, which had settled into her lower back.

This initiated what would become a two year journey for relief. She’s now been enjoying all the things she loves once again, without restrictions. Now that you know what to expect, let’s get back to it and dive right into Jenna’s story.

Jenna Bendinelli: As a collegiate field hockey player, I loved weight training until I got overzealous with deadlifting and tore my L5 S1 disc in 2016. 

Dr. Rita Roy: For the following 8 months, Jenna worked with a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, and several physical therapists to relieve her pain, and it worked. 

Jenna Bendinelli: I had many minimally invasive procedures which all helped to alleviate my pain.

They consisted of an epidural, an SI injection, a nerve ablation, a facet injection, and a second SI injection. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Over the next four years, Jenna lived an active life, which included running, lifting, hiking, skiing, coaching, playing field hockey, and volleyball. 

Jenna Bendinelli: One day in November of 2021, while sitting at my desk, I experienced a familiar deep pain in my lower back, which began what would be a two year journey to get my life back on track.

The way it was 

Dr. Rita Roy: an MRI revealed a degenerative torn disc at the originally injured level L five S one. Unfortunately, the previously successful procedures failed to provide any relief this time around, so she scheduled an appointment with a surgeon. 

Jenna Bendinelli: I had a bone scan and discogram, which confirmed undeniably that the disc was a source of my pain that left me with the choice of a lumbar fusion or a disc replacement.

Dr. Rita Roy: Jenna got a second opinion. And with the support of both surgeons decided that the L5 S1 disc replacement was her best option to return to an active lifestyle. 

Jenna Bendinelli: In August of 2023, I underwent spine surgery at just 26 years old. After six weeks of recovery, I began two months of physical therapy to build core strength.

At three months, the surgery pain subsided and I was able to increase activity. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Jenna experienced a setback when she had some pain in her SI joint, which is alleviated. with a steroid injection, allowing her to continue her recovery. 

Jenna Bendinelli: In February of 2024, six months post op, I was cleared of all restrictions and started jogging, tried snorkeling, hiked, hit golf balls, and skied.

Dr. Rita Roy: Congratulations Jenna, you’re back to your life. That is amazing. That is amazing. Jenna, your story is so important because it shows the kind of success that can happen with a good action plan and perseverance. When you first injured yourself as a collegiate field hockey player, It must have felt sort of devastating at that point.

Can you, can you tell us more about that? 

Jenna Bendinelli: It was very challenging, both at a physical and a mental level. I started having trouble sitting through my classes and studying and I lost my stress outlet of exercising. And on top of that, I had to go to practices and training sessions and I, Watched my teammates get fitter and more skilled and I was just falling behind.

Um, but I was able to get through it when I started changing my perspective. I took on more of an emotional and mental support role on my team. I started being more vocal with sharing my knowledge and sharing what I was seeing on the field. And my teammates were very open to me taking on that role, and it made it so I felt like I was still contributing and being part of the team.

And so changing my perspective really made it so that way I could be happy again while still working through fixing the pain. And those, that ability to change my perspective has translated into other aspects of my life and allowing me to be happy and Tough situations. 

Dr. Rita Roy: That that’s amazing, Jenna. You say that, um, so beautifully and eloquently as I’m looking at you and we’re recording this, but I know, and you’re saying it with a smile on your face, but I know that that comes with, with a lot of, um, challenge, right?

And personal struggle and, um, reframing, reframing the way you think about things, uh, sometimes can be the hardest part that the mental challenge with. With, um, helping yourself to think differently about things. Did you have somebody that helped you through that? Was your coaching, was the coaching staff there for you or, or some other, um, advisor or mentor that helped you with that?

Jenna Bendinelli: Uh, my twin sister was on the team with me. And so having her help and encouragement through it, and then just everyone was open to. Hearing what I had to say on the team. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Super supportive network. Um, that’s, yeah, that’s amazing. And what a gift to have your twin sister on the team with you in college.

That’s, that’s amazing. I didn’t, that’s a cool part of your story. I love that. 

Jenna Bendinelli: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah, so Jenna, did that mean that you were not really able to play competitively, um, with this injury when it happened? 

Jenna Bendinelli: When it happened, I had pain just walking, sitting, standing. So I wasn’t able to do any form of exercising during that period.

So I was mostly on the sidelines. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Wow. And that’s what we talk about how, you know, spine conditions. Put you on the sidelines of your life and literally that happened to you. We talk about it metaphorically But in your life, that was literally what happened and so during during that time jenna, um, you know, you told us about seeing different kinds of What we call non operative.

Um Therapists and therapies. Um, how did you go about, um, that journey? How did you decide, you know, what your action plan was at that point while you were in college and when this first happened? 

Jenna Bendinelli: So when I was home over winter break, my parents and I went and saw one doctor, He thought it could be a torn disc.

And then when I went back to college, the only thing I could really do was physical therapy. So I, the, um, athletic training department had a physical therapist come to campus twice a week. So I was seeing the physical therapist then, and then when I wasn’t getting any better, when I came home for summer break, that’s when I went to the pain management doctor.

Yeah. And he had me try chiropractor acupuncture and then started the minimally invasive procedures which is ultimately what got me back on the field for the next season. 

Dr. Rita Roy: And when you say minimally invasive procedures, tell me exactly what you’re talking about when you say that. 

Jenna Bendinelli: Uh, the combination of epidurals.

Uh, steroid injections and the facet injections and nerve ablation. Yeah, yeah. And non surgical procedures. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah, non surgical procedures. 

Jenna Bendinelli: It took a combination of steps to get me back, but we were able to get back for the rest of my college career. 

Dr. Rita Roy: That’s amazing. So were you able to play when you went back to college at that point?

Jenna Bendinelli: We worked back up to playing that year and then my last year I was able to participate the whole 

Dr. Rita Roy: time. Wow. Jenna, that’s, that’s amazing. That’s fantastic. 

Jenna Bendinelli: Yeah. 

Dr. Rita Roy: So that’s great. And, and I bet with the physical therapy that you had done, they, they taught you strengthening exercises and things to do to, for maintenance, right?

So once you get better, then you’ve got to maintain that. And, and I’m sure with all the exercise you were doing as a, as a member of the team that was sort of built into your life, right? You’re doing these things. Yeah. core strengthening and back strengthening exercises and staying fit and active and healthy and, and off you go.

And then graduation happened and right. And so, and so then tell me what happened. So then what happened after that? So you graduate from college, you’re done with the team and now what happens? 

Jenna Bendinelli: So for the next few years until 2021, so about two and a half years, I was I exercised a lot. I participated in all sorts of activities like volleyball, field hockey, skiing, hiking.

I was a very active person. And then one day I was just working and I started feeling the pain again. And then I started panicking because I was like, this is familiar. Yeah. Um. And then we started round two, which ended up being a lot longer. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. Jenna, did you go back to some of those non operative, um, um, modalities when this flared up again?

Jenna Bendinelli: So I had, um, continued doing my physical therapy. Um, even after college and so I went from once a day to twice a day to see if I could just get away with that. And then when that didn’t work, I went back to that pain management doctor and we started right away with the same minimally invasive procedures since I had so much success with them last time.

But unfortunately. They did not work this time after we went through the whole list, 

Dr. Rita Roy: it just wasn’t working. And so, um, was that, what did the pain doctor order the MRI for you at that point? 

Jenna Bendinelli: Yes. So we had done the MRI when the, um, first few procedures didn’t work. To confirm that it’s still the same issue and it was still just the small tear in the disc, but the disc was deteriorated.

Yeah. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. Such a bummer. I mean, the, the crazy thing about herniated disc is that, is that they can resolve themselves. Um, but it’s just, you know, you’ve, you know, you might have a little ticking time bomb sitting there, like ready to rear it’s, uh, It’s, it’s ugliness again. And it kind of sounds like that was what was going on there.

I mean, sometimes it’s just, it’s damaged and it’s done and now you’ve got to do something different, right? Yeah. 

Jenna Bendinelli: Yeah. So that was my case. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. Well, you know, I’m so, um, delighted to hear you talking about, um, seeing a couple of different doctors. We talk a lot about encouraging people to get more than one opinion when it comes to your spine care.

Um, because it is a confusing, um, Um, part of your body, the, the treatments can be confusing and for your peace of mind, it’s good to hear from different doctors sort of confirming which path would be the best path for you. Um, can you tell us what that was like? 

Jenna Bendinelli: Yeah. So when, um, the procedures weren’t successful and we had only one more left, my pain management doctor suggested I go see a surgeon since he was sort of out of ideas.

And then I went to that doctor and he was impressed about how much we had tried already because we went through all the steps he would usually start with, which was very encouraging that yeah, I was on the right path and that’s when he wanted me to then do a bone scan and a discogram to make sure that.

At this point, if we’re looking at surgery, we want to be sure that the surgery we do will fix the pain. Yeah. And so, um, before the discogram, we discussed that if it’s positive, I’m looking at a lumbar fusion or a disc replacement. And so that is when I decided to go to a second doctor. To make sure that what my first, my first surgeon is telling me aligns with what other surgeons would be recommending at this point.

And everything he said was aligning, which was very reassuring that I was taking the proper steps and that I am at the point where surgery was my only option. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah, Jenna, that’s so smart. Um, you know, because they say, you know, you get an opinion and then you get a second opinion. And if they’re saying the same thing, then it’s really a matter of choosing which is the right thing.

Provider which is the right doctor for you, but if they’re saying two different things You might need to see a third opinion to see yeah You know what the majority like, you know, then then it gets to be confusing. So um, what a gift that you had, um, you know the ability to confirm that and um, I just you are absolutely a poster child of how to pursue treatment Um for a back condition.

This is exactly what You are what people, you know, need to do. And, and I love that your surgeon confirmed for you that you had exhausted all of the non operative treatments before, um, contemplating surgery as a, as a, as a final step. And, you know, for many people, many surgeons will say to us, You know, 80 percent of the time when patients go to see a spine surgeon, they don’t need spine surgery.

Um, you know, the, the condition can be treated with other modalities. Um, but sometimes it really just requires a surgery to be fixed. It’s really just a, you know, it’s an anatomical situation that like. That’s the only thing that’s going to take care of it. So, um, you know, that must’ve felt so good to know, like I’m doing everything right.

I’m doing the best that, that, that can be offered. And, and here I am, that must’ve felt so reassuring to you. 

Jenna Bendinelli: That was, it was also very reassuring that every single doctor I saw their priority was making sure that. They exhausted all the options because I was so young. Everyone wanted to avoid surgery.

And that was also reassuring because I knew we weren’t jumping into anything that they didn’t think was necessary. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. And Jen, I want to talk a little bit about, um, the discography procedure that you had. And you said something really important that your surgeon wanted to make sure. That doing a surgery was going to alleviate the pain and that’s one of the things we talk a lot about in the foundation is that, you know, figuring out the diagnosis and figuring out the right treatment, um, for your condition, you know, sometimes it’s hard to know if the procedure is actually going to be the thing that’s going to fix the problem.

the pain because identifying the source of the pain can be challenging, um, when it comes to spine conditions. Um, how did you feel about that conversation with your surgeon? Did you have questions about that or was that sort of a new concept to you or what was that like for you? 

Jenna Bendinelli: I was very grateful that that was the focus, and he warned me that the discogram would be painful, but having done it, we were completely positive that the disc was the source of my pain, and we had eliminated other options through the bone scan, and so going into the surgery, Both surgeons I talked to said a positive discogram means that either surgery procedure would provide me at least some relief.

And so I was very grateful that when we decided to take that big step, we knew for sure that This was the right course. It was a bit frustrating that I had to keep jumping through hoops getting diagnostic procedures, insurance approval. Um, I switched insurance at one point, which delayed everything even more.

Yeah. Um, but at the same time, I was very grateful that we knew that surgery was going to fix my pain. And so I was glad we jumped through those hoops, even though it took a while. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. Good for you, Jen. I mean, that’s, it’s so hard. Um, doing all of that. I mean, that’s part of our mission in the foundation is, you know, in the advocacy work that we do is that we want to advocate for better access to spine care because it is challenging and, and it’s, and it’s compounded by the fact that you’re in pain.

As you’re going through this, you’re in pain, you’re, you’re debilitated, you know, you’re not doing your regular life activities and, and, and yet you have to battle to get to, uh, the treatments that, that, you know, are going to work and get you through it. And so, you know, hats off to you for, for sticking with that and getting through that.

It is. not easy. And, um, you know, I, I think you sharing that about your story is so important for people to understand. They’ve just got to persevere through it and just get through that, that part of, you know, dealing with, with their insurance companies, dealing with the coverage issues, working with their surgeon’s office and team and, and, and, and getting to that treatment that’s going to get you definitively.

You know, taking care of, 

Jenna Bendinelli: it’s all worth it. It’s all worth it. It just sucks for a while, but you’ll, you get 

Dr. Rita Roy: through it and then life gets better. Right. Um, so Jenna, then you were, um, they, so now you’ve identified exactly the source of the problem. And now you’ve been given the option of two different surgical procedures, a fusion or a disc replacement in your lumbar spine.

Tell us what it was like deciding between those two different. Um, treatment options. 

Jenna Bendinelli: So, um, I talked to both my surgeon and the second opinion surgeon about the two options. They were both the two that they brought up as the only two options left for me. And they talked about the lumbar fusion is a lifetime solution, but it reduces mobility and could wear out the adjacent discs, especially considering I’m so young.

And with the disc replacement, it’s not permanent. I will likely have to have it replaced in 20 to 40 years. No one’s really certain, but it would let me maintain mobility and would not impact the other discs. It sort of seemed that both surgeons were leaning towards disc replacement, being a better option for a young patient like me.

But I did have time to go home and think about it and do my own research. And I read other people’s stories about having disc replacements online. And I found a scientific study assessing patients abilities to return back to sports after a disc replacement. And helped reinforce what my surgeons were saying about the disc replacement being a great option for me.

Dr. Rita Roy: Jenna, you are, again, such a, this is a model story. This is exactly, you know, what we are here to do is to help people like you find credible resources, um, that are, um, honest and, you know, present the science around what the treatment choices are. You educated yourself, you empowered yourself with knowledge and you made the best choice for you.

Bravo. That is awesome. Um, I just so excited for you to be sharing that with us because that is exactly what we are here to do is to, you know, tell people you’ve got to be your own self advocate. And that means you have to. Uh, educate yourself and you’ve got to, to learn what the choices are and how to even make a decision like that.

And you did exactly that. And I’m just, I’m just so thrilled to be talking about that with you. It’s just, it’s amazing. Thank you. Thank you for sharing this. Path, um, this path that you’ve taken with our audience. It’s, it is awesome. Um, how, how difficult was it for you to find information about the treatment choices and, and what sources did you use?

Can you tell us a little bit about that? 

Jenna Bendinelli: It actually wasn’t that hard to find too many sources on the disc replacements. I just. I just Googled it really and went from source to source and I found people’s stories on YouTube and read it and I just kept searching for, for information about just ability to do sports again and different searches found different results and I just read them until I felt comfortable.

Yeah. 

Dr. Rita Roy: That, that is awesome. And again, at the National Spine Health Foundation, you know, this is what we do is we share stories like yours so, so others can learn from it. So, um, thank you. Thank you for sharing your story. Um, Jenna, tell us, tell our listeners how you found us, the National Spine Health Foundation.

Jenna Bendinelli: So I was looking up advice to get back to running after surgery. And there’s not a lot of it, but I found the 5k that the National Spine Health Foundation does. And I thought that was awesome because I want to be able to run a 5k again one day. And then I started exploring the website and I saw the work that You guys do with providing resources and helping people be informed about what they have as options.

And then I found the advocacy section and I thought it was great getting to read other people’s stories and how they got through it. And it made me want to also share my story. So that way I can take this period of time that was, that was, Very tough and a big struggle and use it to do something good and help other people.

And I just really got inspired by, uh, what the national spine health foundation is doing. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Jenna, that is amazing. You’ve, you have made my day, my week, my month, my year, um, hearing from people like you who see our work, that it’s meaningful and want to contribute and be part of it is what we’re all about.

All about that is our whole raison d’etre. It’s the reason why we are here. And I’m just, um, you know, I, I thank you for, um, for being part of our community and, um, sharing your story and, and, and, um, being willing to, to step into the podcast and, um, Be, be an active part of, of our mission. So thank you. Thank you for sharing that story.

And it makes me feel like our work is worth it. 

Jenna Bendinelli: I’m so grateful that I can turn this into something positive and that you’re giving me the opportunity to do that. Oh, you make me cry. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Well, thank you for sharing your story and thank you for taking advantage of this opportunity. And we hope that others will learn from you and be inspired by you.

We know others will learn and be inspired by you. And we encourage others to also, you know, it’s, it’s just so hard. The spine journey is a difficult one, but the miracles of modern spine health. Spinal healthcare are giving people options truly to get back to their lives like never before in history. And, um, it’s not easy.

It is challenging. Um, it is can be frustrating. Um, you do need a great support system around you to maximize your, uh, your recovery. It sounds like you had a really awesome support system around you and, um, you know, we just, we just hope for the very, very best for everybody and. Everybody’s condition is different.

No two situations are the same because our bodies are unique and different. And so, all the things that you did, Jenna, are just absolutely exemplary. You know, getting yourself educated, getting second opinions, asking the right questions, getting informed, and now jumping in to be part of the solution for others.

It’s just, I cannot thank you enough. I, I, I Congratulate you. And I’m just absolutely thrilled to meet you, to talk with you and to welcome you as a friend in the foundation. So thank you. Thank you. 

Jenna Bendinelli: Thank you. That is all very kind to hear. It makes me feel much better about my journey and I’m so excited for what’s next.

Dr. Rita Roy: That’s awesome. Well, Jenna, I’m going to get into our closing here. Is there, is there anything you haven’t shared or said that, um, that you want to want to say before we Before we sign off, 

Jenna Bendinelli: I have one thing I’d like to say, um, advice for people getting started is just be patient. It takes a long time to figure out what is going to work for you.

And the first thing you try might not work. It might take a combination of solutions. And even when you do find the solution that does work, it’s going to take time for your body to heal and recover. I got frustrated a lot of time because. I wanted to be able to keep up with my siblings and doing activities and be me again, but I needed to be patient, give my body time.

It took several doctors, but at the end of the day, all of those steps are worth it and that it does get better and you can get there. And a big part of that was measuring my success from week to week, not day by day, not every day success, not every day it gets better. But when you start looking at the bigger picture, you will see how far you’ve come And that you will get to where you want to be one day.

Dr. Rita Roy: Jenna, that’s beautiful. So well said. You are wise beyond your 26 years. Thank you. Beautiful. Thank you. Jenna, it was an absolute delight to meet you, to hear your story of incredible perseverance, patience, and determination. Sharing it with our community will no doubt be helpful to people, helping them to gain the confidence and fortitude needed to move forward.

to make the right decisions for them as well. Again, thank you so much for being willing to share with us.

At the National Spine Health Foundation, something we believe in most is providing hope for recovery through sharing stories of success and expertise. It isn’t always easy to find someone to relate to. Even though a hundred million adults suffer from neck or low back pain each year to hear more stories of spinal champion recovery and access educational materials about spine health, visit us at spine health.

org. If you’re interested in supporting our show financially, you can contribute at the link provided. Thank you for listening.