American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) Practice Test

Neuropathic pain comes from damage or disease affecting the somatosensory nerves, so the pain signals arise from nerve injury or abnormal nerve activity rather than from ongoing tissue damage alone. Diabetic neuropathy is classic nerve damage from long-standing diabetes, causing burning, tingling, and numbness. Postherpetic neuralgia follows nerve injury from shingles, with persistent sharp or electric-like pain. Phantom limb pain results from nervous system reorganization after limb loss, producing pain in the missing limb.

Osteoarthritis, on the other hand, is driven by degenerative and inflammatory processes within a joint that activate nociceptors in joint structures. This produces nociceptive pain—typically aching or mechanical pain related to use or pressure—rather than the nerve-originating pain seen in neuropathic conditions. Therefore, osteoarthritis is not an example of neuropathic pain.