Neuropathic pain is triggered as a consequence of a disease or lesion to the somatosensory nervous system, altering its structure and function. It is maladaptive, meaning that the pain can be felt in the absence of a stimulus, and responses to innocuous and noxious stimuli are pathologically amplified. Neuropathic pain affects around 7–10% of the general population. 

Common causes of the condition include postsurgical and post-traumatic nerve damage or nerve pressure, vascular malformations, alcoholism, metabolic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, viral infections, and neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Chronic neuropathic pain may also be associated with an underlying condition such as diabetic neuropathy or cancer, and with treatments such as chemotherapy. 

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