Last updated: Tue, Aug 13, 2024
Neuropathic pain is pain due to a pathology of nerves. It is a symptom of neurologic diseases rather than a disease itself. The cause of the pain in most known neuropathic pain conditions lies in the sensory nerves. Neuropathy typically has both “positive” and “negative” symptoms, both of which are bad. The negative symptoms, reduced sensitivity to stimulation, are the result of the loss of normal function in the sensory nerves. The positive symptoms, which include pain without stimulation, pain with reduced stimulation (hyperalgesia), and pain with stimulation that is not noxious (allodynia) are the result of abnormal functioning of the damaged sensory neurons.
Neuropathic pain can be an exaggerated form of normal pain, or can have different qualities, such as feeling like an electric shock. Painful symptoms of neuropathies include both stimulus-induced and stimulus-independent (unstimulated) pains. The pains are often described as “electric shock,” “burning,” “tingling,” “itching,” or “prickling.” Some patients have shock-like radiating pain. Chronic neuropathy is often accompanied by wasting of the affected muscles, reduced or absent tendon reflexes, and impaired autonomic functions.
Within this section...
Epidemiology of Neuropathic Pain (Last updated: Mon, Jun 26, 2017)
Causes of Neuropathic Pain (Last updated: Tue, Aug 13, 2024)
Or skip to...
Pain Associated with Cancer (Last updated: Wed, Jun 28, 2017)