Dr. Thornburg is a Columbia, Missouri native. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas and then returned to Columbia, Missouri where he attended medical school at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. During his final year of medical school, he was a medical extern at Fulton State Hospital in Fulton, Missouri. Dr. Thornburg completed his residency in Family and Community Medicine at the University of Missouri and during this time he was also a physician in the emergency department at Boone Hospital Center.

Dr. Thornburg joined Columbia Orthopaedic Group in 2004 and specializes in sports medicine and non-operative orthopaedic care. He is an assistant team physician for the University of Missouri athletic department.