The Lane Cove rooms are at 2 Austin Street, directly opposite the Lane Cove Library and a few metres from Longueville Road. If you are coming from the village it is a walk of two or three minutes, and the parking behind the library is the easiest option in the middle of the day.
Lane Cove sends a particular mix of problems through the door. There are the desk-and-commute necks and low backs from St Leonards and the city, the shoulders and elbows of a suburb that plays a lot of tennis, and the knees and Achilles tendons that come with living on a hillside — the stairs down to Tambourine Bay and the streets off Burns Bay Road are their own kind of training load. Lane Cove also has a lot of people in their thirties and forties carrying small children, which is its own demand on a back.
A first appointment is mostly questions and movement testing: where the pain is, what makes it worse, what it stops you doing, and how it has behaved over weeks rather than days. From there you should leave knowing what is proposed, roughly how long it is expected to take, and what would mean changing the plan.
Worth bringing: any imaging or specialist letters you already have, a list of medications, and the shoes you actually walk or train in. If the pain is new and severe, follows a significant fall, or comes with numbness, weakness, fever or any change in bladder or bowel control, see a doctor first — that is a medical assessment, not a treatment question.
The nearest alternative if Lane Cove does not suit you is the Freshwater side, about 14 kilometres away across the Spit.
You booked for one sore spot, yet the questions cover sleep, digestion and stress. A wider history helps build a clearer plan for your main concern.
You arrive for acupuncture because your lower back has been aching for weeks, and suddenly you are being asked how you sleep, what your digestion is like, how active you are and how stressed you feel. It can seem off topic. In fact, a wider history helps describe the circumstances around your pain and can highlight issues that need further assessment.
Pain rarely exists in isolation. Poor sleep can make aches feel worse, long periods of sitting can stiffen muscles, and stress often shows up as tension in the neck and shoulders. Questions about general health can also uncover warning signs, such as unexplained weight loss or night pain, that should be checked by a GP. Dr Christine Shen, Acupuncturist, asks these questions to understand you as a whole person, not to drift away from your concern.
Bring a short timeline with you. Note when the problem started, what makes it better or worse, and what treatments or exercises you have already tried. Include any scans, reports or advice from other practitioners. This saves time and helps focus the discussion.
Tell Christine which effect on daily life bothers you most. It might be difficulty sleeping through the night, struggling to sit at your desk, or being unable to play with grandchildren. That priority keeps the plan anchored.
However broad the questions, the conversation ought to return to the back pain that brought you in. You should understand what is proposed and why. The plan can be reviewed as new information emerges or as your symptoms change. Ask how progress will be assessed and when another opinion might be helpful.
Expect your first visit at the Freshwater clinic to include these broader questions. Jotting down your sleep, activity and stress levels over a typical week beforehand can make that part of the conversation quick and easy.
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