Madelyn Hensley, 19, who is a freshman at Cedarville University in Clark County, has had a passion for volleyball since she was very young. But the sport she loved would result in an injury that might have ended her career.
Born and raised in Dover, Del. in a family with nine brothers and sisters, Hensley followed her older sister, Riley, to Ohio to play for Cedarville.
“I started playing volleyball when I was 12 years old,” Hensley said.
Hensley wanted to attend a Christian college, so she committed to play volleyball for Cedarville when she was a junior in high school.
Then last fall, after playing the game for nearly eight years, Hensley started experiencing neck and back pain. Thinking it was nothing serious, she continued playing until she couldn’t stand the pain any longer.
“I went to see my trainer and he worked with me to loosen up,” Hensley said. “I’m not exactly sure when the injury happened because I’ve had back pain before.”
Hensley said after that volleyball game last October, she felt different, and her back pain was severe. She was having difficulty walking and sitting.
“Everything hurt really bad,” Hensley said. “And it just kept getting worse.”
After going to a doctor who told her hamstrings were tight and she needed to work harder to stretch out, she went back and played the remainder of the season. She continued to do frequent stretching exercises, focusing on her hamstring muscles.
“I kept getting shooting pains going own my back and into my legs, even when I sat down,” Hensley said. “It didn’t make sense to me that it was just hamstrings.”
Over Thanksgiving break, Hensley went home to Delaware and scheduled an appointment with a chiropractor. With volleyball season over, she wanted to stay in shape, so she was weightlifting.
“I think that could have made it worse,” Hensley said. “When I came back for Christmas break after driving eight hours, I couldn’t walk the next day. I was in so much pain, I couldn’t get out of bed.”
At that point, Hensley hadn’t yet gotten an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). Her dad, Richard Hensley, had suffered a similar injury three weeks before his daughter did, while playing pickleball.
“My dad pushed me to get the MRI,” Hensley said. “I finally got that in December, right before Christmas 2023.”
Hensley’s father looked at her MRI and told her it looked exactly like his injury. Hensley had herniation, protrusion and extrusion at the base of her lumbar spine. The L-4, L5 vertebrae was affected and helped explain the pain and numbness Hensley felt in her legs.
“My chiropractor recommended I see a doctor, so my dad helped me look for someone in Ohio,” Hensley said. “I started doing rehab and pain management with my chiropractor weekly.”
Richard Hensley found Dr. Kamal Woods, a minimally invasive spine surgeon and president of Vertrae Inc. in Miamisburg.
Credit: Lee Ann Yahle
Credit: Lee Ann Yahle
When Hensley returned to Cedarville in January of this year, she set up a consultation with Woods and her dad came out to go to the appointment with her.
“We were both blown away by how well the appointment went,” Hensley said. “Everyone was so nice, and we loved the facility.”
Woods recommended minimally invasive spine surgery over a more conservative course of rest because the surgery would help Hensley heal faster and allow her to return to playing her beloved volleyball.
“I had my surgery at the end of February,” Hensley said. “I had a lumbar discectomy and he removed part of the disc that were compressing the nerve. My dad ended up having his surgery three weeks before mine.”
Hensley’s surgery was done as an outpatient. She arrived at noon and was released to go home at 6 p.m. The best part of the story is that Hensley’s pain was greatly reduced immediately after surgery. She started physical therapy and had her six-week post op appointment where she was cleared to practice volleyball again.
“I haven’t been able to practice or condition since last November,” Hensley said. “I had a two-month recovery period but then I could start playing again.”
Today, she has returned to playing the sport she has loved for nearly a decade, and she is doing it virtually pain free. Hensley is proud of what she has been able to accomplish in a short time and is grateful to Woods for helping her get there.
Credit: Lee Ann Yahle
Credit: Lee Ann Yahle
“Volleyball is one of the most important things in my life and I’m so excited to be back,” Hensley said. “I’m excited to see what the season will look like without the back injury and the pain.”
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