About Us
Our goal is to help you feel better so you can live better.
Our Mission
Spine & Pain Associates, PLLC is committed to providing compassionate care to patients suffering from chronic or acute pain. We strive to provide the best diagnostic services and to offer a comprehensive range of non-surgical treatment options that support the highly personalized pain management plans we develop for our patients.
Co-founders Dr. Bhat and Dr. Dhaliwal are experts in pain management who can deploy a broad spectrum of treatment services to improve patients’ quality of life. In addition to the wide variety of treatment options they personally administer, the doctors devise treatment plans that may include other modalities (physical therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage, behavioral health and more) as needed to provide pain relief to patients as quickly as possible. By maintaining a network of allied specialists, Spine & Pain Associates is able to define comprehensive, personalized pain treatment plans that are focused on the patient rather than on the convenience for the practice.
Our staff shares our compassion to treat. You will notice the difference on all your visits. At Spine & Pain Associates, PLLC, our mission is to provide the high level of exceptional care that we would want for our own family members.
Dr. Jasbir Dhaliwal
Co-founder Jasbir Dhaliwal, MD is a double board-certified and fellowship-trained interventional pain medicine physician. While his medical training and experience included surgical skills, he opted to specialize in non-surgical approaches to patient rehabilitation and pain management. As a fellowship-trained interventional pain specialist, his philosophy is to use the most innovative techniques to deliver quality pain management. Dr. Dhaliwal is dedicated to the comprehensive care and treatment of acute and chronic pain including arthritic, spinal and nerve pain and many other conditions. His breadth of medical training serves him well in determining the most appropriate types of treatment (rehabilitative, medication, surgical) for each patient.
Dr. Dhaliwal graduated from State University of New York at Buffalo with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and Biochemical Pharmacology. After receiving his medical degree at Ross University School of Medicine he completed a year of General Surgery internship at Albert Einstein School of Medicine in the Bronx. He completed a residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at SUNY Upstate Medical Hospital in Syracuse, New York where he served as Chief Resident during his final year of residency. After residency, Dr. Dhaliwal completed a one-year ACGME accredited pain management fellowship with the Department of Anesthesiology at SUNY Upstate Medical Hospital in Syracuse, NY.
Dr. Dhaliwal is a member of American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spine Intervention Society, American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians and North American Neuromodulation Society.
Leisure interests include spending time with his wife and two sons as well as playing basketball and golf.
Dr. Dhaliwal performs kyphoplasty/vertebral augmentation, fluoroscopically-guided epidural steroid injections, facet and sacroiliac joint injections, medial branch blocks, radiofrequency ablation, spinal cord stimulator trials, peripheral joint and trigger point injections, peripheral nerve blocks, sympathetic ganglion blocks, ultrasound guided nerve and joint injections, prolotherapy, BOTOX injections, EMGs and independent medical exams.
Dr. Krishna Bhat
Co-founder Krishna Bhat, MD is dedicated to providing compassionate care to those in acute and/or chronic pain caused by a variety of conditions. He has been in private practice and board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation since 2006. With his open communication style, Dr. Bhat both informs and makes patients comfortable with the personalized treatment plans he develops. His communication skills and experience have also aided the practice in establishing its strong network of allied healthcare professionals (physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, acupuncturists, etc.) that are often included in the comprehensive treatment plans he develops for patients. He enjoys sharing his experiences and knowledge of pain management with office colleagues as well as patients. He enthusiastically represents the practice at medical events and health fairs.
Dr. Bhat graduated from University of California, Davis in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences. He completed medical school at the American University of the Caribbean in 2001. During his final year of residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, he served as the Chief Resident for the program. He was instrumental in advancing the training program for the residents and thrived in his mentorship role.
Dr. Bhat is an active member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Pain Society of the Carolinas, Spine Intervention Society and American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine.
Leisure interests include traveling, spending time with his family and young daughters and playing golf, basketball and billiards.
Dr. Bhat performs fluoroscopically-guided epidural injections, facet and sacroiliac joint injections, medial branch blocks, radiofrequency ablation, sympathetic nerve blocks, spinal cord stimulation trials, peripheral joint and trigger point injections, BOTOX injections, EMGs and independent medical exams.
Becca Zadeh, DNP, FNP-BC
Becca Zadeh, DNP, FNP-BC is a board certified nurse practitioner at Spine & Pain Associates, PLLC. She began working at the clinic in July 2022.
Becca graduated from UNC Wilmington with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2010. She attended UNC Greensboro to earn her Master of Science in Nursing Education, and later went on to earn her Doctor of Nursing Practice with a concentration as a Family Nurse Practitioner from East Carolina University.
Becca began her nursing career working on a medical/surgical floor. After earning her MSN, she taught in an associate degree nursing program and worked in a nursing resources role at her local hospital. This allowed her to gain familiarity in a variety of care environments, including cardiology, orthopedics and neurology. While attending ECU to earn her DNP, she worked full-time at WakeMed Cary in the postpartum/mother-baby department.
Becca lives in Raleigh with her husband Jay. They enjoy taking walks in the City of Oaks with their dog–a living teddy bear (shih tzu mix) called Gizmo. They also enjoy checking out local live music and comedy venues.
Becca is ecstatic to be joining the SPA team! She looks forward to serving patients at both the Sanford and Raleigh location to help them feel better and live better.
Tonya Cox, MSN, ACNPC-AG, CCRN
Tonya Cox, MSN, ACNPC-AG, CCRN is a board-certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at Spine and Pain Associates. She began working at Spine and Pain Associates in October 2022. She began her practice as a nurse practitioner in a cardiology clinic in Fayetteville. Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, she was a critical care nurse practicing in the Critical Care Unit at Waccamaw Community Hospital in South Carolina for over 12 years, and most recently in Cardiothoracic Intensive Care unit at UNC Chapel Hill. She holds a specialty certification as a Certified Critical-Care Registered Nurse. She began her practice as an RN in January 2003, and has experience in Med-Surg and Physical Rehabilitation.
She initially attended Horry-Georgetown Technical College where she pursued an Associate’s Degree in Nursing in December 2002. She then continued on to earn her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from the University of South Carolina in 2009, and subsequently a Master’s Degree in Nursing with a focus on Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from the University of South Carolina in May 2021.
Tonya is a member of multiple professional organizations, including the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, North Carolina Nurses Association, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing.
She is a native of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, relocating to the area after getting married in May 2021. Tonya and her husband, Reggie, live in Broadway, North Carolina. They enjoy traveling as often as possible, attending concerts and music festivals, spending time with their families, as well as relaxing, cooking out, and hanging with friends.
With pride and passion as a provider, Tonya is thrilled to have joined Spine and Pain Associates. She is eager to provide quality care to our patients, assisting them in achieving a better quality of life. She is looking forward to serving the Sanford community.
