What is neuropathic pain (nerve pain)?
Neuropathic pain is nerve pain that can happen if yournervous systemmalfunctions or gets damaged. You can feel pain from any of the various levels of your nervous system, including your peripheral nerves, your spinal cord and your brain. Your central nervous system consists of your spinal cord and brain. Peripheral nerves are the ones that spread throughout the rest of your body to places likes organs, arms, legs, fingers and toes.
Damaged nerve fibers send the wrong signals to pain centers in your body, resulting in neuropathic pain. Nerve function may change at the site of nerve damage and in areas in your central nervous system (central sensitization).
Neuropathy is a disturbance of function or a change in one or several nerves. About 30% of neuropathy cases occur due todiabetes, but hundreds of other diseases — like shingles, HIV/AIDS and alcohol use disorder — can cause it, too.
