For example, the patient with buttock
and posterior thigh pain may upon
further questioning reveal that the pain
is extreme, occurs at night and is so
severe that it keeps the patient awake,
and is not affected by movement. All
of the symptoms described should
raise "red flags" to the clinician, and
the "rule of thumb" is that such symptoms
may indicate pain of non-musculoskeletal origin, with referral to medical
sources imminent.