About Us
Our Mission
What Does Novera Mean?
Novera is the combination of two words:
Novo (meaning new) & Era (a period of time)
A new era for people with headaches and migraines to improve their quality of life.
A new era for higher quality, patient-centered healthcare.
Our Outcomes
Leading medication:
Novera outcomes:
Upon the average patient’s 6th Visit Assessment
In a sample of 180 Novera patients, the average improvement in symptoms and restoration of daily function was 50% by visit 6! In other words the typical patient will see 50% improvement within three weeks.
Upon graduation from a Novera Care Plan
In that same sample:
The total number of headache days per 6 weeks (or 42 days) was reduced from an average of 19 headache days to just 6 headache days. About a 70% reduction of headaches in just 6 weeks!
Of those headaches, the average intensity was reduced from 5.2 to 4 (on a scale of 0-10). In just 6 weeks!
With most patients we shoot for 80%-90% improvement in frequency and intensity of symptoms within an 8 week period.
The Story of Novera: Headache Center
Dr. Taves started Novera with one goal in mind — changing the lives of people who suffer from headaches and migraines who had given up hope of ever finding a lasting solution.
Here’s the story of how Novera came to be from Dr. Taves, himself.
I didn’t start out my career focused on headaches and migraines.
After receiving a degree in exercise science, I went on to receive my Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the Mayo Clinic. During my time there, I was introduced to a local Physical Therapist who taught a course on how to treat the neck and jaw. This sparked my interest. I pursued other Physical Therapists (PTs) and coursework that would further my understanding of treating the neck as it relates to headaches. It was then that I realized there was a lesser-known form of treatment that had the potential for much greater impact on patients’ lives — physical therapy focused on the neck.
I wanted to work with as many patients as possible, so I worked for a couple outpatient physical therapy clinics. Up until then, all I had heard about headaches and migraines was, “Migraines are for the neurologist to treat”, or “It’s a neurological problem”, even “There is no true way for a PT to help if a patient has a migraine diagnosis”. But I saw something different. Patient after patient saw substantially more relief than anything they had tried before. Simply through the application of these hands-on techniques I had learned to treat the neck!
At that point I started to question why more PTs weren’t doing this. I had to ask, “Why were patients going decades, or even a lifetime, with medication as their only form of treatment?” It seemed absurd. What I found was that medical doctors didn’t know what the “cause” was, so they were left to offer what they could through symptom management.
The problem seemed twofold: many PT’s weren’t confident they could treat the neck or even think of treating someone for migraines, and physicians trained in a model heavily driven by pharmaceutical interventions doing their best to help.
The vision of Novera surfaced when I realized the majority of headache and migraine sufferers were skeptical that PT could help. They had been let down so many times that many were near hopeless. To add to the distrust, general PT practices are open gym settings and heavily based on exercise — two things most people with headaches and migraines find challenging. I knew I needed to build trust and show a deeper level of understanding than what a general PT practice offered.
In January 2019 Novera: Headache Center was created specifically for headache and migraine sufferers feeling hopeless and tired of relying on medication, not knowing where to turn. Our mission is to empower everyone with headaches and migraines to break free from a life of fear of your next headache or migraine and dependence on medication so that you can thrive in everything you do.
If you have headaches or migraines and are still searching for a solution, Novera was built just for you.
Dr. Jono Taves, The Headache Doctor
Meet Our Team
Jono Taves PT, DPT
OWNER/HEADACHE SPECIALIST
Jono Taves first fostered a love for health and wellness as a collegiate soccer player and an exercise science major at Northwestern College. After receiving his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the Mayo Clinic, he developed a passion for helping people find the source of their aches and pains, allowing a more natural healing process. Since then Dr. Taves has dedicated his career to the mission of educating and empowering people with headaches and migraines to break free from a life of fear and dependence so that they can thrive in everything they do. He now is the owner of Novera: Headache Center, one of the country’s only specialty physical therapy centers devoted to helping headache and migraine patients, and the host of The Headache Doctor Podcast.
Brandt Gutwein PT, DPT
HEADACHE SPECIALIST
Brandt Gutwein first sparked his interest in physical therapy as a young athlete who was frequently injured and required physical therapy on a routine basis as a patient. The desire grew then to be the one who, as a therapist, can help people heal physically while also equipping them with the tools and confidence to return to life as full as possible. Graduating first as a Physical Therapist Assistant and then continuing his education to achieve his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Missouri, Brandt has developed a wide variety of passions and skills within physical therapy. Ultimately he saw the life changing benefit of manual based therapies at the joints and muscles of the neck for chronic headaches and migraines as his primary passion, and now helps people at Novera Headache Center find lasting relief from their once debilitating condition.
Kayla Gutwein
PATIENT REPRESENTATIVE
Kayla was employee number one over 5 years ago when Novera opened it’s doors. She had a short stint away for college, but returned last year and has joined the team once more as the patient representative. If you have successfully navigated through our treatment processs you may receive a phone call down the road from Kayla asking how you are feeling and if there is anything we can improve upon. Most of her job description is wrapped up in making sure you are happy with your experience. Kayla is a warm and friendly presence around the office and a valuable part of our team here at Novera.
Sharon Zietlow
DIRECTOR OF PATIENT EXPERIENCE
As one of Novera’s Directors of Patient Experience, Sharon has a love for understanding and navigating the unique needs of every patient that we encounter. Passionate about making each patient experience the best it can possibly be with an attention to detail and a focus on hospitality. Give us a call and Sharon or Lilli will direct your experience.
Zander Romero PT, DPT
HEADACHE SPECIALIST (PARKER & CS)
Zander Romero graduated from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science Summa Cum Laude in 2021 then received his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Regis University in 2024 with a certification in dry needling. Zander has a passion to treat the whole person, utilizing his skills and expertise to maximize the patient’s potential before resorting to medications and surgery. His mission is to spread hope through physical therapy by being the conduit to allow patients to reach autonomy from their life-changing migraines and headaches.
Jenn Ballenger
DIRECTOR OF PATIENT EXPERIENCE
Jenn will be the empathetic and helpful front desk that you want to interact with as you go through our process. She has a passion for helping those in need and will go above and beyond what’s expected. Jenn is the one that ensures your time at Novera goes smoothly and does the behind the scenes work to get you the care you need.
Sarah Thomas PT, DPT
HEADACHE SPECIALIST (PARKER)
Sarah Thomas earned a Bachelor’s in Wildlife Conservation from BYU and received her Doctor of Physical Therapy in Arizona. Sarah has been practicing physical therapy since 2018, and has worked in a variety of settings including outpatient, assisted living, and home health. She’s passionate about learning and educating her patients how their bodies function, how to safely navigate their environment, and how to mitigate pain. She is the lead therapist at our Parker office.
