Gut health can be a hidden driver of chronic migraines—especially when it shows up as sugar cravings, inflammation, and hormone imbalance. In this episode, Dr. Taves and functional medicine nutritionist Hallie Brooks explain how gut dysfunction and microbiome imbalance can lower your migraine threshold, why sugar cravings are often biology-driven (not just willpower), and how PCOS/estrogen dominance can overlap with headache patterns.

At Novera, we teach that lasting migraine relief requires addressing three essential components. This episode is a deep dive into Component #3: overall health.

Novera: Headache Center

If you’re looking for long-term migraine relief (not temporary fixes), this episode breaks down the three essentials you can’t overlook.

In this episode of The Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explains Novera Headache Center’s Three-Spoke Framework for true, root-cause migraine relief:

1. The source of pain (often the neck, jaw, and shoulders)
2. Why you got here (hidden barriers like airway issues, hypermobility, or past injuries)
3. Your general health threshold (sleep, stress, gut health, hormones)

You’ll learn why triggers like food, weather, exertion, or hormones don’t fully explain migraine pain—and why addressing only one piece of the puzzle often leads to short-term relief that doesn’t last.

Novera: Headache Center

How treatable are your headaches or migraines — and what determines how quickly you can see relief?

In this episode, Dr. Jono Taves breaks down why all headaches are treatable, but not all follow the same recovery timeline. Drawing from over a thousand real patient cases, he explains how symptom frequency, pain patterns, and overall health help predict how the body responds to care.

Dr. Taves walks through the key differences between constant daily headaches and intermittent migraines, explains the role of central sensitization, and shows why headaches that start in the neck often respond more quickly when the mechanical source is addressed. He also clarifies why many headache diagnoses are based on symptoms rather than root cause — and how that affects long-term outcomes.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your headaches are “too chronic,” “too complex,” or “too ingrained” to improve, this episode offers clarity, realistic expectations, and hope grounded in clinical experience.

Novera: Headache Center

If you experience stabbing, burning, or behind-the-eye pain—and have been told it’s trigeminal neuralgia or a migraine—this episode will help you understand what may really be happening. Dr. Taves breaks down the trigeminal nerve, its three branches, and how the trigeminal pathway connects facial pain with the upper neck and brainstem.

You’ll learn why the trigeminal nerve is often blamed for migraines and facial pain, why pain perception isn’t always a reliable indicator of tissue damage, and how neck dysfunction can trigger the brain to interpret pain as coming from the eye, temple, jaw, or forehead.

This episode also explains why common migraine models often label neck pain as “secondary,” and why a more complete view of referral patterns and neuroanatomy may unlock real long-term relief.

Novera: Headache Center

Many people with headaches and migraines don’t realize their eyes may be contributing to symptoms. In this episode, Dr. Taves speaks with optometrist and dry eye specialist Dr. Pam Theriot about the growing connection between screen time, dry eye disease, eye strain, and headache symptoms.

Dr. Theriot explains how prolonged screen use reduces blink rate dramatically—from about 21 blinks per minute to around 7—which prevents the eyelids from releasing oils that protect the eye’s tear film. Over time, this can lead to chronic dry eye disease, fluctuating vision, and discomfort that may feel like pressure or pain behind the eyes. 

The conversation also highlights why dry eye disease is affecting younger patients than ever, how workstation setup impacts eye strain, and practical daily habits to protect long-term eye and head health. Dr. Theriot shares actionable strategies including the 20-20-20 rule, screen positioning tips, and a simple at-home test to check for dryness. 

If you struggle with headaches, eye strain, or migraines—especially in a screen-heavy lifestyle—this episode offers a holistic, preventative approach to improving both eye comfort and overall wellness. 

Novera: Headache Center

In this episode of The Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves breaks down a question many people ask after years of suffering: What is a migraine — and why does the definition matter?

Dr. Taves explains how migraines are diagnosed in today’s healthcare system, what symptoms typically qualify someone for a migraine label, and why migraine is often categorized as a primary headache—meaning it’s treated as something with no clear cause and managed mainly with medication. 

He also explores why that model can be limiting for patients who want long-term improvement, and why focusing only on the diagnosis can prevent deeper investigation into what may be driving symptoms like head pain, nausea, light/sound sensitivity, and neurological changes. 

This episode challenges common assumptions about migraines and offers a hopeful perspective: if symptoms have an underlying cause, they may be more treatable than most people realize. 

Novera: Headache Center

If you’ve tried everything for headaches or migraines and still feel stuck, this episode is for you.

In this episode of The Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explains why evaluating both the neck and shoulders is critical for long-term headache and migraine relief—and why so many treatment approaches fall short.

You’ll learn why the upper neck (C1–C3) is the most common source of head and facial pain, how restoring movement—not just reducing inflammation—can calm pain signals, and why focusing only on imaging, injections, or alignment often leads to short-term or incomplete results.

Dr. Taves also breaks down how shoulder dysfunction can pull the neck back into tension, triggering recurring headaches and migraines, even after initial relief. This episode walks through the clinical reasoning behind addressing the neck first for pain reduction, then the shoulders for lasting results—so you can move away from constant flare-ups and dependence on medication.

If you’re tired of chasing symptoms and want a clearer path forward, this episode provides a framework for understanding what’s really driving your headaches and migraines.

Novera: Headache Center

In this episode, Dr. Jono Taves breaks down the most common headache and migraine relief tools people buy for home use—especially around the holidays. From ice caps and nerve stimulation devices to neck massagers, traction units, and specialty pillows, he explains how each category works, what kind of relief it can realistically provide, and where its limitations lie.

Dr. Taves organizes these tools into clear categories, helping listeners understand which devices temporarily reduce pain signals, which relax muscles, and which may actually support better neck function. He also shares his professional recommendations based on treating thousands of headache and migraine patients, emphasizing an important takeaway: while many tools can be helpful, most do not address the root cause of recurring headaches.

This episode is designed to help you spend your money wisely, set realistic expectations, and understand how at-home tools fit into a bigger, long-term solution for headaches and migraines.

Novera: Headache Center

Many people with migraines are told their symptoms are purely neurological and must be managed long-term with medication. In this episode, Dr. Taves explains why that model often leaves patients trapped in a cycle of trial-and-error prescriptions without clear answers. He shares the clinical pattern that changed his entire perspective: again and again, patients formally diagnosed with migraines experienced real improvement when restrictions in the upper cervical spine were identified and treated through specialized physical therapy.

Dr. Taves breaks down how the upper neck (from the base of the skull through about C3) can refer pain into the head and face and create symptoms that look exactly like classic migraine. He explains why standard imaging and routine medical exams frequently miss these issues — because they don’t test true upper-cervical function or motion.

You’ll learn why migraines often “start in the neck,” how to think about root cause versus symptom management, and why restoring normal joint movement in the upper cervical spine can be a reliable, medication-free path toward lasting relief for many headache and migraine sufferers.

Novera: Headache Center

If you’ve been dealing with headaches or migraines and still haven’t started treatment, you’re not alone — and there are clear reasons why. In this episode, Dr. Taves breaks down 7 of the most common barriers that keep people stuck, like waiting for the next medication to work, feeling like it’s “not a good time,” trying to pinpoint triggers first, or being told it’s not a neck issue.

He explains why symptom-management thinking delays real recovery, how migraines quietly steal your time and energy, and why taking action sooner often makes the path forward simpler. You’ll leave with a clearer view of what’s holding you back — and how to move toward lasting relief with confidence.

Novera: Headache Center