A Bushey Heath woman who was urged by her GP to try pilates to relieve back pain actually had a tumour.

Julie McKenzie, of Brooke Close, started experiencing back pain in Spring 2013 and went to see her GP three months later.

The 53-year-old was referred for x-rays, which revealed Ms McKenzie had a slightly curved spine, a condition known as scoliosis. Her GP suggested that she should try pilates in order to build up her core muscles.

But the mother of two said she felt there was more to it.

In an interview she said: "I'd been doing a lot of gardening and noticed my lower back ached afterwards.

"At first a hot bath would sort it out, but as the months passed I found the aching was bad after strenuous activity such as DIY and didn't go away after a bath any more.

"If I made a sudden movement I'd experience a sharp, pinching pain in my lower spine that would take my breath away and force me to stop whatever I was doing."

Ms McKenzie found that painkillers did not help and in a desperate attempt to find relief of the symptoms, she used her private medical care to see spinal surgeon Robert Lee at Spire Bushey Hospital.

Mr Lee ordered an MRI scan, which revealed that not only did Ms McKenzie have scoliosis, but the tail bone of the spine - the coccyx - was enlarged.

It in fact contained a tumour.

Mr Lee said that often back pain is under-investigated so treatable conditions such as tumours can be missed.

Ms McKenzie had an operation in autumn 2013 to remove the entire coccyx as it is not a necessary part of the spine - it is the remains of a tail from an earlier stage of evolution.

Inside her coccyx, she had a 2cm tumour, which although was found to be cancerous, because it was surrounded by healthy tissue it had not spread.

Following the surgery Ms McKenzie was off work for six weeks because she said that sitting hurt so much.

Now, although she will have to have a scan every year for the next five years and still experiences some back pain due to her arthritis, she said it is nothing compared to what might have been.

She added: "I'm so pleased I made a fuss instead of leaving things."