Francisco Padilla's Road From Prison to Doctor of Physical Therapy

Francisco Padilla's path to becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy started about as far from a classroom as possible. He grew up in a rural part of Mexico where he didn't know anyone in a medical or professional career, dropped out of high school, and ended up serving five years in prison, where he earned his GED. Less than a year after his release, while working in the oil fields, he was in a car accident that left him with burns over nearly 80% of his body. He spent months in an induced coma, underwent 30 surgeries, lost the digits on his hand, and remained hospitalized for over 10 months.In this episode, Dr. Civelli talks with Francisco about how that experience became the turning point of his life. He shares what it was like to relearn how to walk, the depression and brain fog that followed, and the moment his own physical therapists encouraged him to go back to school instead of returning to his old life. As a first-generation college student with no roadmap, he sold his car, his motorcycle, and his jet skis to study full time, retook classes he failed, and prepared for the GRE while working a near full-time job. He talks candidly about how his criminal record became a "red flag" in nearly every program application, how some interviewers questioned whether he'd even be able to get licensed, and why he pushed forward anyway.Francisco now owns Padilla Physical Therapy and Fitness Incorporated, a family-run practice in Wasco, California, where his mother and nephew both work, and is preparing to open a second location in Bakersfield. He and Dr. Civelli also dig into the recovery tools he uses and recommends to patients, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, peptides like BPC-157 and TB-500, sauna, cold plunge, and why he believes movement is often the most underused medicine in physical therapy.