The Headache Doctor Podcast

What if the medication you're taking to relieve your headaches is actually making them worse?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explores medication overuse headaches, sometimes called rebound headaches, and how frequent use of certain headache medications can contribute to a cycle of recurring pain.

He explains the different medication categories, the frequency thresholds associated with medication overuse headaches, and the warning signs that may indicate your headache pattern is changing.

You'll learn:

• What medication overuse headaches are and how they develop
• Which medications carry a greater risk of rebound headaches
• Why taking medication on 10 or 15 days per month can be an important warning sign, depending on the medication
• How occasional migraines can develop into more frequent or persistent headaches
• Why changes in pain location, frequency, and intensity deserve attention
• How Novera approaches identifying potential contributors to chronic headaches and migraines

Dr. Taves also discusses why he believes looking beyond symptom relief is important when developing a long-term headache treatment plan.

Important: Never stop, reduce, or change prescribed medication without consulting your prescribing healthcare provider.

👉 Get your questions about medication overuse headaches and migraines answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

You're exercising, staying healthy, and doing everything you're supposed to do—so why are you still getting headaches and migraines?

What if your workout is contributing to your headaches, even when you feel great immediately afterward?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explores the often-overlooked connection between exercise, neck and shoulder tension, and migraines.

He explains why exercise-related headaches don't always happen during a workout. Sometimes symptoms appear hours later or even the next morning, making it difficult to recognize the connection.

You'll learn:

• Why exercise can be both beneficial and a potential headache trigger
• How shoulder workouts, overhead presses, and core exercises can strain your neck
• Why headaches may appear 24–48 hours after exercising
• How workout intensity, heavy weights, and muscle fatigue can contribute to symptoms
• Why improving neck stability, shoulder function, and exercise tolerance may help you return to working out

Dr. Taves also shares how gradually adjusting your workouts and rebuilding strength may help you stay active without repeatedly triggering symptoms.

The goal isn't to stop exercising—it's to find a way to exercise that works for your body.

👉 Get your questions about exercise-induced headaches and migraines answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

Is your neck causing your migraines—or are your migraines causing your neck pain?

It's a question that sparks plenty of debate, especially among people who've found relief from migraines after receiving treatment for their neck.

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves challenges the common “chicken or the egg” explanation and explores why the neck may play a bigger role in migraines than many people realize.

He explains the connection between the upper cervical spine, trigeminal nerve pathways, and the brain's interpretation of pain. You'll learn why neck dysfunction may contribute to headaches and migraines, even when MRIs or X-rays appear normal.

Dr. Taves also discusses the limitations of focusing exclusively on symptom management and why he believes evaluating neck movement, joint restrictions, and muscle tension can reveal important pieces of the migraine puzzle.

If you've been told your neck pain is simply another symptom of your migraines, this episode offers a different perspective—and questions worth asking about your treatment.

👉 Get your questions about migraines, neck pain, and potential contributing factors answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about

Novera: Headache Center

Have you ever noticed your headache appears when you get home—or disappears while you're away, only to return a day or two after you come back?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explores how your home environment may be contributing to headaches and migraines and the small, everyday factors that are easy to overlook. Pasted markdown

Rather than searching for one single trigger, Dr. Taves explains how multiple environmental factors can add up and gradually push you over your headache or migraine threshold.

You'll learn what to consider in your:

• Bedroom: sleep position, pillow, temperature, light, noise, ventilation, and air quality
• Daily environment: screens, lighting, fragrances, cleaning products, dust, allergens, and potential mold or moisture
• Home office: desk setup, prolonged sitting, neck position, movement, hydration, and eating habits Pasted markdown Pasted markdown Pasted markdown

Dr. Taves also introduces a simple “100-point” threshold analogy to explain how poor sleep, stress, neck tension, skipped meals, screens, and other seemingly small factors can combine until your body crosses into headache or migraine territory. Pasted markdown

Plus, in Ask the Headache Doctor, he answers questions about headaches triggered by barometric pressure and persistent one-sided pain above the ear.

👉 Get your questions about migraine triggers and your environment answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about

Novera: Headache Center

Could the way you breathe be making it harder for your body to recover from headaches and migraines?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explores an often-overlooked piece of the headache puzzle: breathing. Not as the root cause of headaches, but as a factor that can influence your nervous system, sleep, muscle tension, stress response, and overall threshold for pain.

He breaks down why nasal breathing matters, how mouth breathing and poor sleep can create a cycle of increased pain sensitivity, and how breathing patterns can influence the body's fight-or-flight and rest-and-digest responses.

You'll also learn about overbreathing and CO₂ tolerance, how breathing can recruit muscles in the neck and shoulders thousands of times throughout the day, and simple strategies Dr. Taves recommends trying—including box breathing and a CO₂ tolerance step test.

The goal isn't to claim that changing your breathing will eliminate migraines. It's to identify another factor you can work on to help your body recover, regulate stress, and potentially raise its tolerance for pain.

👉 Get your questions about headaches, migraines, and the factors that may be affecting your pain threshold answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

Do you have a headache every day that never seems to fully go away? It may feel like it started out of nowhere—but there may have been signs building long before your headaches became constant.

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explains why daily headaches start, why they can become so persistent, and what it takes to begin breaking the cycle.

He breaks down how occasional headaches or migraines can progress into daily pain and explores factors that may push the system past its threshold—including neck, jaw, and shoulder dysfunction, stress, poor sleep, illness, inflammation, and changes in general health.

You'll also learn about central sensitization—when the brain becomes increasingly sensitive to pain signals—and why recovering from long-standing daily headaches often requires addressing both the underlying source of pain and the brain's heightened response to it.

Dr. Taves also discusses the role of medication, lifestyle, movement, sleep, nutrition, stress, and why a comprehensive plan may be necessary when headaches have been present for months or years.

👉 Get your questions about daily headaches and chronic migraines answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about

Novera: Headache Center

Sharp, burning, stabbing, or electrical pain in the back of your head, scalp, or behind your eye may lead to a diagnosis of occipital neuralgia or trigeminal neuralgia. But does that mean the nerve itself is the underlying problem?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explains how to tell whether your symptoms may involve more than the nerve—and why your neck could be an important part of the picture.

He breaks down the anatomy behind occipital and trigeminal nerve pain, referred pain, and the trigeminal cervical complex. He also shares clues that may point toward neck involvement, including restricted neck movement, symptoms triggered by posture or prolonged sitting, tenderness at the base of the skull, and pain that begins in the neck and travels upward.

You’ll also learn why Dr. Taves cautions against assuming that relief from a nerve block, injection, medication, or ablation proves the nerve itself was the original source of the problem—and what he recommends looking at instead.

Plus, in Ask the Headache Doctor, Dr. Taves responds to people who spent years trying to get providers to recognize the connection between their neck pain and headaches or migraines.

👉 Get your questions about occipital neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, and neck-related headaches answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community: https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

If you’ve been diagnosed with vestibular migraine—or you live with ongoing dizziness, vertigo, or that constant “on a ship” feeling—there may be an important part of the picture that hasn’t been fully evaluated.

In this episode of The Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explains why our healthcare system can miss the underlying cause of vestibular migraine—and what to look for instead.

He breaks down the three systems your brain relies on for balance and orientation:

• The visual system
• The vestibular system
• The neck and proprioceptive system

While the inner ear is often evaluated thoroughly, and vision is sometimes considered, Dr. Taves explains why neck function is frequently overlooked—even though your brain depends on information from the neck to understand where your head and body are in space.

You’ll also learn:

• How BPPV differs from other types of dizziness
• Why visual coordination matters
• How neck tension and altered proprioception may contribute to dizziness
• Why vestibular migraine is often multifactorial
• What to look for when testing has not given you a clear answer

Plus, in Ask the Headache Doctor, Dr. Taves answers questions about food triggers and migraine threshold, and explains how Novera’s neck treatment approach differs from chiropractic manipulation.

👉 Get your questions about vestibular migraine, dizziness, and neck-related headaches answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about

Novera: Headache Center

What if chronic pain isn't simply something to silence—but a message your body is trying to send?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves sits down with Leigh Brandon, author of Beyond the Pain, functional medicine provider, manual therapist, and C.H.E.K practitioner, to explore why some people remain stuck in chronic pain despite medications, injections, exercises, or even surgery.

Leigh breaks chronic pain down into four potential root-cause categories:

• Structural and biomechanical problems
• Metabolic factors like nutrition, digestion, hormones, and inflammation
• Nervous system dysregulation and sensitization
• Emotional factors and trauma

They also discuss why pain can be protective rather than simply harmful, how the nervous system can remain hypersensitive after an injury has healed, and practical ways to start identifying patterns behind your own symptoms.

If you've been in pain for years and feel like you've already tried everything, this conversation offers a different framework for understanding what your body may be telling you.

👉 Get your questions about chronic pain, headaches, migraines, and finding the root cause answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about

Novera: Headache Center

What does it actually mean if you have migraine with aura vs. migraine without aura—and should that distinction determine how you approach treatment?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explains why visual disturbances, light and sound sensitivity, numbness, and other neurological symptoms can feel alarming, but focusing entirely on those symptoms may keep you from asking a more important question: What's making the system so sensitive in the first place?

You'll learn:

• What migraine aura can look and feel like
• Why some people experience aura without significant head pain
• How the trigeminal cervical complex processes signals from the head, face, and neck
• Why migraine symptoms can vary dramatically from person to person
• How the jaw, occipital nerves, and upper neck may contribute to the pain pathway
• Why chasing individual symptoms can lead to a cycle of trigger avoidance and symptom management

Plus, in Ask the Headache Doctor, Dr. Taves answers questions about treating the upper neck with cervical instability and why Botox may work for migraines for years before seemingly stopping.

👉 Get your questions about migraine with aura, unusual migraine symptoms, neck-related headaches, and finding the root cause answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

What if your migraine diagnosis isn't necessarily wrong—but it isn't telling you the whole story?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves shares five clues that your headaches or migraines may have an overlooked neck-related component. Instead of looking only at symptoms like nausea, light sensitivity, throbbing, and one-sided pain, he explains why it's important to ask what's actually driving your nervous system to become so sensitive in the first place.

The 5 clues he breaks down are:

• Your pain starts in—or is connected to—your neck
• Weather and barometric pressure changes trigger your symptoms
• Exercise triggers a headache or migraine
• Your symptoms are consistently one-sided
• You have ongoing jaw, neck, or shoulder tension

Dr. Taves also explains why normal X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans don't necessarily tell you how well your neck is moving or functioning—and why these clues may warrant a closer look at the neck, jaw, and shoulders.

Plus, in Ask the Headache Doctor, Dr. Taves answers questions about distinguishing cervicogenic headaches from migraines and the role hormonal changes may play in migraine threshold.

If you've had migraines for years, tried medication after medication, and still feel like you're missing an explanation, this episode will give you five specific things to consider.

👉 Get your questions about migraine diagnosis, neck-related headaches, and finding the root cause answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

Could what’s happening in your gut be affecting how vulnerable you are to migraines?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves sits down with functional health practitioner Taylor Knese of Mod Health Co. to explore the connection between gut health, hormones, stress, inflammation, and migraine threshold.

They break down how the gut communicates with the brain, why digestion and bowel movements can offer clues about your overall health, and how imbalances involving estrogen, histamine, stress, and the gut microbiome may contribute to a lower migraine threshold.

You’ll learn:

• How the gut and brain communicate through the vagus nerve
• Why gut health may influence inflammation and migraine threshold
• The connection between estrogen, histamine, and hormonal migraines
• How chronic stress can affect digestion and gut motility
• What your bowel movements may reveal about your digestive health
• Why walking, sleep, chewing your food, and eating a diverse whole-food diet matter
• How gut health fits into a bigger, whole-body approach to migraines

If you’ve focused on your headaches but never considered your digestion, hormones, or gut health, this conversation may help you see another piece of the migraine puzzle.

Special Offer from Mod Health Co: Use discount code DRTAVES with Mod Health Co. to receive the listener discount mentioned in this episode.

👉 Get your questions about gut health, hormones, migraine triggers, and improving your migraine threshold answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

Do your headaches build throughout the day—then sometimes turn into a migraine?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explains why tension headaches and migraines may not be two completely separate problems. A band-like headache, neck tightness, and shoulder tension can build over time, while a more irritated joint in the upper neck may create a sharper, one-sided migraine pattern.

Rather than treating one as a muscle problem and the other as a neurological problem, Dr. Taves looks at both through one unified lens: the mechanics of the neck, shoulders, and jaw.

You’ll learn:

• Why tension headaches often worsen throughout the day
• How prolonged sitting and forward posture load the neck and shoulders
• Why a broad, band-like headache feels different from a one-sided migraine
• How both patterns may still come from related mechanical problems
• Practical ways to reduce tension, move more, and build resilience

Plus, in this week’s Ask the Headache Doctor segment, Dr. Taves answers questions about headaches after sitting through several classes, migraines that continue despite healthy lifestyle changes, and being told migraines are “all stress.”

👉 Get your questions about tension headaches, migraines, neck tension, and finding the root cause answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

Is migraine really a neurological disease—or could your neck be the missing piece?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves challenges one of the most common beliefs about migraines. He explains why a migraine diagnosis is based on symptoms—not necessarily the underlying cause—and why many people continue searching for answers after normal MRIs, CT scans, and medications.

You'll learn how the neck, jaw, and shoulders can send pain into the same pathways that process migraine symptoms, why imaging often misses the real problem, and a simple self-assessment you can do at home to see whether your neck may be contributing to your headaches.

You'll learn:

• Why migraine is a diagnosis based on symptoms
• What MRIs and CT scans are actually designed to rule out
• How the trigeminal nerve processes head and facial pain
• Why neck dysfunction can create migraine-like symptoms
• Why medications manage symptoms but don't identify the source
• Four simple ways to assess whether your neck may be involved

If you've been told your scans are normal but you're still living with chronic migraines, this episode may change the way you think about what's really causing your symptoms.

👉 Get your questions about migraines, neck-related headaches, and finding the root cause answered inside our Free Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

Is your dizziness coming from your inner ear… your eyes… or something almost everyone overlooks?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explains why dizziness, vertigo, and vestibular migraines are often more complex than they seem. He breaks down the three major systems that help your brain maintain balance—and why treating only one or two of them may leave you searching for answers.

You'll learn:

• The difference between dizziness, vertigo, and vestibular migraine
• How the inner ear contributes to balance problems
• Why your visual system may be making dizziness worse
• The often-overlooked role your neck plays in balance and vestibular symptoms
• Why normal testing doesn't always rule out the true source of your symptoms
• How addressing all three systems may lead to better long-term outcomes

Plus, in this week's Ask The Headache Doctor segment, Dr. Taves answers listener questions about:

• Being told dizziness is "just stress"
• Vestibular testing that seemed to make symptoms worse
• When to keep pursuing answers after you've hit a dead end

If you've been living with unexplained dizziness, vertigo, or vestibular migraines, this episode will help you better understand what could be driving your symptoms—and why one important piece is often missed.

👉 Get your questions about dizziness, vertigo, vestibular migraine, and finding the root cause answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

What exactly is a cervicogenic headache, and could it be the diagnosis that's been missing all along?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves explains one of the most overlooked diagnoses in headache care—a headache that originates from the neck. He discusses why neck dysfunction is frequently mistaken for migraine, why imaging often fails to identify the real problem, and how using the right language with your healthcare providers could completely change your treatment approach.

You'll learn:

• What a cervicogenic headache is
• Why neck problems are often mistaken for migraines
• How neck dysfunction can refer pain into the head, face, and behind the eye
• Why X-rays and MRIs don't always identify the underlying issue
• Questions to ask your doctor or physical therapist
• Why improving neck function may help reduce headaches instead of simply masking symptoms

Plus, Dr. Taves answers listener questions about:

• Chronic headaches after whiplash
• Migraines triggered by lifting grocery bags
• Whether triptans prove you have migraines
• Daily headaches that start behind one eye

If you've been told everything looks "normal" but you're still living with headaches or migraines, this episode may change the way you think about your diagnosis—and your path toward recovery.

👉 Get your questions about neck-related headaches, cervicogenic headaches, migraine symptoms, and finding the root cause answered inside our Free Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

Most people think all stress is bad—but what if avoiding every stressor is actually making your body less resilient?

In Part 2 of this two-part series, Dr. Taves explores the concept of good stress and how the right kinds of short-term challenges can help your body become stronger, healthier, and more resilient to headaches and migraines.

From exercise and cold exposure to learning new skills and building physical capacity, you'll learn why health isn't about eliminating stress—it's about adapting to it.

You'll learn:

• The difference between good stress and chronic stress
• Why resilience matters for headache recovery
• How exercise can increase your headache threshold over time
• The science behind hormesis and positive adaptation
• Why recovery is just as important as the stress itself
• Practical ways to safely build physical and mental resilience

If you've been avoiding movement, exercise, or other challenges because you're afraid they'll trigger a headache, this episode offers a different perspective on how building resilience may be part of your recovery.

👉 Get your questions about stress, exercise, resilience, and headache recovery answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

Everyone says stress causes headaches—but what does that actually mean?

In Part 1 of this two-part series, Dr. Taves explains what stress is, how it affects your body, and why chronic stress can increase headaches and migraines.

Rather than blaming stress itself, this episode explores how your body's stress response can lower your pain threshold, increase muscle tension, and make headaches more likely. Most importantly, you'll learn practical strategies to help your body recover from chronic stress.

You'll learn:

• What stress actually is and why it's a normal part of life
• The difference between healthy stress and chronic stress
• How chronic stress lowers your headache threshold
• Why stress causes neck, jaw, and shoulder tension
• How stress affects your nervous system, hormones, sleep, and overall health
• Practical ways to calm your nervous system and reduce headache triggers

If you've ever said, "My headaches are just caused by stress," this episode will help you understand what's really happening inside your body—and what you can do about it.

👉 Get your questions about stress, headaches, nervous system regulation, and root-cause healing answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community:https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center

Do your migraines change around your period, during pregnancy, postpartum, or through menopause?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves and Dr. Sarah Thomas break down how female hormone changes can impact headaches and migraines across different stages of life.

They explain why estrogen fluctuations can lower your threshold for pain, why symptoms often worsen around your period or perimenopause, and why pregnancy may improve migraines for some women but worsen them for others.

You’ll learn:

• Why migraines often change with your cycle
• How estrogen affects headache sensitivity
• Why puberty, pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause matter
• How birth control can either help or worsen headaches
• Why hormones may be a trigger—but not the root cause

If you’ve noticed your migraines shifting with hormonal changes, this episode will help you better understand what’s happening and what you can do next.

👉 Get your questions about hormonal migraines, menstrual headaches, pregnancy-related headaches, and root-cause healing answered inside our FREE Virtual Headache & Migraine Community: https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about

Novera: Headache Center

You got an MRI. It showed a Chiari malformation. Now what?

In this episode of the Headache Doctor Podcast, Dr. Taves breaks down what a Chiari malformation is, why it shows up on MRI, and whether it’s actually the cause of your headaches, migraines, dizziness, or neck pain.

You’ll learn why imaging findings don’t always tell the full story, when surgery may be worth considering, and why neck tension, mobility, and function still matter.

If you’ve been diagnosed with Chiari and feel unsure about your next step, this episode will help you think through your options more clearly.

👉 Get your questions about Chiari malformations, headaches, dizziness, neck pain, and root-cause healing answered inside our Virtual Headache & Migraine Community: https://www.skool.com/headache-freedom/about 👉

Novera: Headache Center