Written by Jacksonville Business Connections
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Dr. Cristina Padilla spent her childhood and teenage years involved in sports, primarily volleyball, where she had her first experience with Chiropractic care. As a young girl, she expressed great interest in science and healthcare.
The University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus is Dr. Padilla’s alma mater, where she received a Bachelor’s in Biology and had the opportunity to attend summer internships at both University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. These experiences sparked an interest in Dr. Padilla to continue to pursue studies in women’s and children’s health.
In 2011, Dr Padilla relocated to Seneca Falls, New York to begin her Chiropractic education at New York Chiropractic College (NYCC), where she had the opportunity to expand her knowledge in Nutrition, Rehabilitation, Pediatric and Prenatal care. Following her passion, she began a 2-year program provided by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) that further trained and certified her in the Webster Technique for Pregnancy (certified in 2012), along with very specific care for infants and children through several different Chiropractic techniques (certification to be completed in 2020). Dr Padilla also received a certification in levels 1 and 2 in Kinesiotaping from KT International.
In the summer of 2015, Dr. Padilla made warm and sunny Jacksonville, FL her home, relocating to be closer to family.
Thrive Family Chiropractic, LLC was founded by Dr Padilla in the fall of 2017 with the idea that Chiropractic care should be convenient and accessible to all, with a focus on facilitating care for families, women during pregnancy and children. Throughout her years of practice, Dr Padilla has seen how challenging it can be for families to incorporate Chiropractic into their lifestyles and make it a priority rather than a luxury. With this thought in mind, Dr Padilla wants to provide the best, most personalized and individualized Chiropractic care to women during pregnancy and to children of all ages, to help improve their lifestyle, prevent chronic illness and allow them to express their full potential in life, sports, school.
Since creating Thrive Family Chiropractic, Dr Padilla has focused on expanding her education into specific Chiropractic techniques like Craniosacral work (CST), pregnancy and post-partum rehab and preconception and pregnancy nutrition, in order to create a supportive and educational space for women and their families.
Dr Padilla’s mission is that Thrive Family Chiropractic becomes a place where families come to receive education, learn about informed-choices for their children and that they feel respected and safe living the Wellness and Chiropractic lifestyle they desire and best fits their family dynamics. This practice welcomes parents from all backgrounds and beliefs and promotes healthy, educated discussion of public health and wellness topics related to pregnancy, childbirth, mother/fatherhood and overall healthcare.
During her time off, Dr. Padilla enjoys traveling, especially to Puerto Rico, exploring new cities across the US, reading, cycling, training for half-marathons and the beach. To date, she has completed 3 half marathons. Her favorite quote is: “the goal is to die with memories, not dreams
Contact information:
Dr. Cristina Padilla
904-437-4546
thrivefamilychiro@yahoo.com