The Headache Doctor Podcast

Is your Provider actually helping? In this episode of The Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves dives into key rules to help you evaluate your Provider.  1. You Should Feel Better. 2. You shouldn't be told that you are feeling better (according to images/scans). 3. Focus should be on symptoms. 4. Timeframe and outlook of care is important (when should I be feeling progress?)  Novera: Headache Ce...

A Cervicogenic Headache is a secondary type of headache originating in the neck and can present similar symptoms as a migraine diagnosis- intense pain (that can refer down your arm or shoulder), a sense of feeling ill, sensitivity to bright lights and loud noises, and/or visual disturbances. In this episode of The Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explains the difference between primary and secon...

Do you have shoulder pain or tension? Do you have pain when wake up? Do you experience jaw popping or clicking? In this episode of The Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves uncovers the most common presentation in the Neck, Jaw and Shoulders. There are many kinds of headaches and migraines, but there are consistencies in the way people present-  the way that gravity weighs on us, the muscle groups in...

  If you have chronic daily headaches, then this podcast episode is for you. In this episode of The Headache Doctor Podcast,  Dr. Taves explores the role that medication plays in dealing with headaches and migraines. In a "Migraine in America Symptoms Study" 35% of patients with a migraine diagnosis say that their acute treatment is poor or very poor. The physicians who are prescribing t...

In this episode of The Headache Doctor Podcast , Dr. Taves explains that this treatment is for anyone with head or facial pain. Novera has an 85% success rate and has effectively treated people with: tension headaches, cluster headaches, migraines with/without aura, occipital neuralgia, a migraine diagnosis, trigeminal neuralgia, atypical migraine and chronic daily headache. So, what is the common...

Did you know: Women are 2x more likely to experience headaches compared to men? In this episode, Dr. Taves speaks with Dr. Becca Murrer, another Physical Therapist at Novera Headache Center, and address the different hormonal changes happening in each phase of a woman's cycle and how to incorporate the appropriate level of exercise within each phase.  1st phase: Menstrual Phase (estrogen and...

Almost 40% of kids experience headaches or head pain. Yes, kids are resilient, however, they have an under-developed cervical spine (neck) and a head that is disproportionately larger than their body. In this episode, Dr. Taves explains the steps we can take and activities to change in order to prevent kids from getting headaches.  Novera: Headache Center

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves dives into this 3-Step Framework involved in finding relief from Headaches/Migraines and improving your overall health:  Step 1-Think about the Source (of pain)- what structure/tissue is generating the pain. How do your symptoms present? What area do you experience pain- the Jaw (temple pain), shoulders, eyes?   Step 2- Is it a Developmenta...

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves speaks with Dr. Amelia Barrett about her journey from training at Stanford for her Residency in Neurology to suffering from migraines herself and the path that led her on. Dr. Barrett speaks to Chronification- Migraines that occur 3x/week and how they physically change the structure of the brain, to a study that revealed yoga cut headaches...

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves speaks with Lauren Kight, DMD, about an extremely overlooked dysfunction. When you have a Myofunctional disorder, there are muscles in the face, neck and mouth that aren’t working properly, this type of therapy is designed to discover these muscle dysfunctions. Essentially, If you are having an issue with any of the four following things, y...

Board Certified Naturopath and Wholistic Dentist, Dr. Yelle explains the definition of Biologic Dentistry- which he explains as having open eyes and being able to look at the rest of the body and trying to find out how the oral component could be affecting the rest of the body. Related to Migraines, in the mouth, there are a lot of areas of potential undiagnosed chronic inflammation which impacts...

Do you wake up and feel like you aren't well rested? Have you wondered what type of pillow to use for good neck support while you sleep? Are you a mouth breather at night? In this episode, Dr. Taves dives into these questions and he explains the importance of your sleeping position and addresses the role of tension and how it plays into getting a night of quality sleep.   Novera: Headache Cen...

If you have any type of headache or migraine, a physical therapist is very likely going to be able to help you on your road to recovery. Where does pain come from? How do you improve the way that you move and restore function to joints? Do you spend your time running away from migraine triggers? What type of physical therapist should you look for? In this episode, Dr. Taves addresses these very cr...

In this episode, Dr. Taves explains why you might experience a headache with altitude gain. How does our body respond in the hypoxic state (less oxygen)? A change in Barometric pressure is also an extremely common trigger for many migraine sufferers. Why? Because typically there is a level of inflammation within the neck joints (C1 and C2) and the pressure within the joint increases during baromet...

Do you ever wake up with morning temple pain or have jaw pain and clicking? In this episode, Dr. Taves explains the biomechanics of the jaw, how the muscles in the neck/shoulders also impact the jaw, and the importance of airway function. Covid has also drastically impacted the increase in jaw symptoms due to mask wearing. Masks impact the actual mechanics of the jaw and restrict movement which ha...

Everyone has a different Threshold (an internal boundary) that if pushed beyond that limit, you might experience a migraine attack. In this episode, Dr. Taves explains the factors impacting that threshold boundary. Environmental Factors (ie. barometric pressure changes, lights, sounds, strong scents), Physiological Factors (inflammation, stress, hormones), Physical Factors (posture, level of movem...

What causes one-sided pain?  It is understood that most people are one-side dominant- so biases, tensions and compensations will arise on one side that will not  arise on than the other side. However, this does not neccessarily mean that trauma or an injury has led to the experience of pain on that specific side. In this episode Dr. Taves explains the impact of one-sided pain and that a one-sided...

In this episode Dr. Taves speaks with owner and founder of Upstream Functional Medicine, Jeff Hunter about the importance of a healthy gut microbiome for your overall health and narrowing down migraine triggers. Jeff provides a few helpful quick tips: rethink your consumption of sugar (begin tracking your food and sugar consumption), feed the healthy microbiome through high fiber vegetables, eatin...

In this episode Dr. Taves explains the diagnosis of Occipital Neuralgia, a sharp/burning/stabbing pain in the backside of your head and top part of your neck. He provides next steps, stretches and tools for taking control of your health and healing if you have been diagnosed with Occipital Neuralgia.  Novera: Headache Center

In this episode Dr. Taves interviews Lara Heimann,  an international yoga pioneer and Physical Therapist focused on evolving the practice of yoga to empower movement and balance amidst a modern lifestyle of technology and sedentariness. Today's episode seeks to shed light on the mind-body connection and provide insight about neuroplasticity, the concept that the brain and the nervous system c...

According to the National Institutes of Health, migraine with aura accounts for roughly 25% of all migraine diagnoses worldwide. Migraine aura can present as visual disturbances, numbness and tingling, and even difficulty with speech. As you can imagine, this experience is frightening and frustrating for those who experience it! Today's episode seeks to shed light on migraine aura to take awa...

Regular listeners of The Headache Doctor Podcast know that we strongly believe in movement as medicine. Our bodies are not designed to stay in static positions for long periods of time and our necks are not designed to accommodate the forward head position that is all too common in our modern times! Today's episode features practical tips on how to incorporate more movement into your day so t...

If you suffer from chronic headaches or migraines, you've likely either tried chiropractic care or you've had it recommended to you at some point. When people first interact with our practice they are curious about how physical therapy differs from chiropractic care as far as the treatment process and results are concerned.  While chiropractic care can be helpful in many situations it do...

Did you know that the average person spends 1/3 of their life sleeping? Given that - shouldn't we be optimizing our sleep to be as comfortable and neck friendly as possible? Today's episode brings it back to the basics with a practical talk on how our sleep impacts head and facial pain, and how we can create healthy sleeping habits to feel our best throughout the day.  Novera: Headache C...

The Headache Doctor Podcast welcomes Kelli Yates, a registered dietitian nutritionist who has dedicated her career to helping others who struggle with migraine through online programs designed to lower their threshold and regain freedom from pain cycles. This episode highlights the threshold theory of migraine, how to look at food triggers, and the role that food plays in your migraine experience....