Long before Dr. Emilio Castrillon opened his Expressions of Life Chiropractic Center in the Medallion Corporate Park off S.R. 56, he was a boy in Colombia who loved to run. Running became his ticket out of a violent nation, when he was invited to Puerto Rico to continue his running career.
He won State and National championships while pursuing degrees in computer science and business at Turado University in Gurado, Puerto Rico.
(Athletic photos provided by Dr. Castrillon)
But, he never had a proper assessment of his body done and learned the hard way that when you start putting stress on your body, if everything isn’t in its proper place, something will get damaged. He had an injury to his lumbar disc that, at one point, completely incapacitated him.
“At 25, I was a semi-professional runner,” he says, “but I was stuck and wasn’t able to move. The first doctor I saw said surgery was the only option. Then I went to a specific chiropractor who checked my X-rays and explained to me what was going on. After just three adjustments, I was running again.”
Castrillon was inspired.
He decided to go to Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg, SC, where he earned his Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree in 2019.
In 2020, Dr. Castrillon moved to Wesley Chapel and opened Expressions of Life Chiropractic Center. He was briefly affiliated with a franchise called Disc Centers of America, where he received a national certification in non-surgical spinal decompression. Now, however, he has chosen to evolve and provide more than what that franchise offered. For example, he anticipates expanding to offer laser therapy in the future.
He says the key to the success he has had with patients is his attention to detail.
“The American Medical Association says that a one-millimeter (about 1/25th of an inch) misalignment in the spine can create a 12% impairment grade,” Dr. Castrillon explains. “So, we don’t (engage in) guesswork; we analyze in millimeters.”
This includes X-rays and a proper examination that also could include an MRI.
He says many of his patients have structural defects that are at the root of their pain. It might be that one leg is shorter than the other or the pelvis is uneven, or something else.
“We start with the foundation,” says “Dr. C,” as his patients call him. That means he looks at the feet first, with a foot leveler system, and then he examines the entire body from the bottom up. “A lot of people have symptoms because of compensations, so we look at the cause of that problem.”
“We are helping people with disc bulging, herniation and slippage,” he says, adding that his goal is to help people avoid surgery, as he did, whenever possible.
“We do everything in detail,” says Dr. Castrillon. “We don’t take any case lightly. We take the time to explain if it’s something we can help with or we will refer them to the right provider.”
Dr. Castrillon knows a lot about attention to detail — one of the business degrees he earned at Turado University was a Master’s degree in Quality Management. Before he became a chiropractic physician, he worked in quality management for Johnson & Johnson in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.
He says he is most passionate about helping people do they things they love to do, because he knows how it feels to have something taken away by pain.
“We want our patients to be able to enjoy the activities that they love the most,” he says. “In my case, I was unable to run and now I’m able to run again.”
He is grateful to be able to continue running to this day, and recently won first place in a statewide Duathlon, which is running and cycling.
He hopes to help other athletes and encourages all athletes to have a detailed examination with him to help prevent injuries.
Dr. Castrillon loves living in Wesley Chapel, being near the water and having flat land for running and cycling. He is always looking for ways to be more connected to his community, such as his recent participation in Freedom Church’s Freedom Race.
Dr. Castrillon and his chiropractic assistants, Jazmin and Marcela, are committed to not only finding the source of their patients’ pain, but also communicating with the patients so they completely understand what is happening with their bodies and how their problems with pain can be corrected.
They are happy to communicate in either English or Spanish. Dr. Castrillon says some patients who speak Spanish may hesitate to get treatment if they think they won’t understand the doctor. He wants those patients to know he will be able to communicate with them in their native language.
“Most of our business comes from patients who keep recommending us to their friends and family members,” says Dr. C.
Expressions of Life Chiropractic Center has many glowing reviews on Google — with almost all being five stars (out of five).
“My Dad goes to Dr. Castrillon,” says Dustie Harris in one five-star review. “He was in severe back pain from three bulging discs. He went to another chiropractor for several months with no relief. [He also went] to pain management with no relief, and was told [he] should go to a surgeon. He wanted to try another chiropractor. [Now he’s] been going to Dr. Castrillon for couple of months and [has] found the relief he needed.”
Dr. C says it’s common for him to see patients who have been to other chiropractors before — maybe even a lot of chiropractors — and they’re not getting any results. He is especially excited to help those patients.
As a thanks for reading this article, Dr. Castrillon is offering an additional discount on his new patient special for a consultation, full spinal X-ray and X-ray analysis. The total charge will be just $120, if you mention this article.
Expressions of Life Chiropractic Center is located at 2604 Cypress Ridge Blvd., Suite 102A, and is open by appointment only. Some evening and weekend appointments are available. For more information, visit EOLChiro.com or call or text (813) 560-4673.