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.
Dusty Graham, MSN, FNP-BC
Dusty Graham, MSN, FNP-BC, is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner at Spine and Pain Associates. She began working at Spine & Pain Associates in May 2019. She is managing patients with the same philosophy and passion as the owners/physicians of the practice. Before becoming a family nurse practitioner, she was a critical care nurse working in the Med-Neuro intensive care unit at Moore Regional Hospital for over eleven years and before that in the cardiac critical units at the Eastern Carolina Heart Institute for more than two years.
She initially attended Sandhills Community College and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, pursuing a degree in Applied Social Sciences and Psychology. Dusty then pursued her interest in Nursing Science, graduating with honors with her: Associate at College of the Albemarle in 2006, Bachelor at Winston-Salem State University in 2015, and masters at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She completed all her education while working full-time as a nursing assistant during her associate degree and as a critical care nurse in the intensive care unit.
Dusty is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American College of Nurse Practitioners, North Carolina Nurses Association, and was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing.
Dusty, her husband, Ansol, and their three children, son Avery and twins, son, Justus, and daughter Journey, reside in Seven Lakes, North Carolina. In addition to caring for her patients with passion, she also enjoys traveling and spending time with her family, being at the lake, kayaking, drawing, painting, gardening, cooking, reading, and learning.
Christapher Frank, MSN, FNP-C
Chris is a bilingual (Spanish), board certified Nurse Practitioner who joined our practice in April of 2020. He is originally from Northwest Ohio and completed his undergraduate studies at The University of Toledo, where he received his Bachelor’s in Nursing and graduated Magna Cum Laude. He then began his nursing career as a RN in the ICU. After about a year’s time, he relocated to North Carolina and began working in Pain Management.
He was responsible for traveling amongst 6 clinics providing high quality care to patients, as well as training/supervising other nurses. During this time, he gained extensive pain management knowledge, as well as familiarity with the use of various opiate and non-opiate medications and treatment of Opioid Use Disorder.
After several years of working in the field, he became board certified in Pain Management by the Board of Nursing. He then transitioned out of the Pain Management field into a Clinical Director position in community health while pursuing his graduate studies. Chris decided to attend Western Carolina University after receiving full grant funding to cover the cost of his program. While he was there, he also worked as a Graduate Assistant to the College of Nursing and CRNA program. He graduated with a Master’s in Nursing and a 4.0 GPA.
Chris’s areas of interest include pharmacology, radiology, research, and cardiovascular medicine. He prides himself on being detail-oriented and having strong communication skills, as well as striving to be the funniest member of our staff. His philosophy is to empower patients to be able to make choices that allow them to live longer, healthier lives.
He is a member of the American College of Cardiology, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, American Nurses Credentialing Center, and American Nurses Association. He performs trigger point injections, peripheral joint injections, peripheral nerve blocks, and BOTOX injections.
Rachel Main, MPAP, PA-C
Rachel Main, MPAP, PA-C, is a board-certified Physician Assistant at Spine & Pain Associates, PLLC. She began working at the clinic in December 2020.
Prior to becoming a Physician Assistant, she was a Certified Nurse Assistant at a rehabilitation facility before working as a Medical Assistant at a local spine and pain management clinic.
She initially attended Wake Technical Community College before pursuing a Bachelor of Science at Campbell University in 2016. She later returned to Campbell University and graduated with Master of Physician Assistant Practice in July 2020.
With a passion to serve the local community, she is excited to be a part of the team at Spine & Pain Associates and looks forward to assisting patients.
Rachel and her husband Austin reside in Harnett County, North Carolina. In addition to providing the best care possible for her patients, she enjoys spending time with her family, hunting, riding dirt bikes and motorcycles, trying new foods, and traveling.
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.
