Our story begins in the city of Baltimore, USA.
Sometime in the late 1940s, college professor Theodore Woodward coined a phrase that would
go on to have a profound impact on healthcare...
Following the principle of Occam’s razor - where the simplest explanation for a problem is preferred - Woodward’s medical students were encouraged to apply this phrase to their patients' symptoms.
This was thought to prevent misdiagnosis and, soon enough, this phrase spread throughout schools and healthcare facilities around the world.
The phrase was adopted en masse, with little regard for those whose experiences defied a simple explanation.
Those who have been on a long and winding journey with a unique constellation of symptoms - each day full of invisible challenges, yet somehow, they keep holding it all together.
We’re talking about those who’ve seen many care providers and undergone countless tests only to arrive at conflicting opinions. Often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, mistreated - and often, missed altogether.
We’re talking about those the medical community call zebras - and our namesake - who the same community left behind long ago.
Since then, Zebras Australia has grown to a team of 21 audacious healthcare workers who collectively support thousands of zebras across the country to live lives that are big, full and bright.
In just four years, our clinic has gained national recognition in the healthcare sector. We are proud to be part of the global Ehlers-Danlos Society CORE Networks of Excellence.
Today, we offer compassionate, whole-person care through our team of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, exercise physiologists, osteopaths and psychologists.
Our approach is trauma-informed, deeply personal and grounded in science. Our providers work skillfully and sustainably across disciplines, developing shared goals and unified plans for every person we support.
But Zebras Australia is no longer just a clinic.
It is a community, a classroom and a movement.
Alongside clinical care, we offer practitioner education and community events, extending our impact beyond the consultation room.
These offerings are part of our broader goal to transform Australian healthcare - reshaping how care is delivered, who it includes and how it’s sustained.
Our vision? A world where all bodies, brains and minds are seen and supported.
The next time you hear hoofbeats, we hope you’ll think Zebras Australia.
