M79.2 captures nerve pain — including burning, shooting, or aching along a nerve distribution — when no specific etiology, named nerve, or structural cause has been identified or documented.

Documentation tips

What should appear in the chart to support M79.2.

Source · Editorial brief grounded in 6 cited references ↓

• Document the quality of pain using specific descriptors — 'burning,' 'shooting,' 'electric,' or 'aching along a nerve distribution' — to clinically support neuralgia versus myalgia or mechanical pain.
• Record onset, duration, location, and any aggravating or alleviating factors to establish the clinical picture and demonstrate that unspecified status is not a documentation failure.
• Note which structural causes were ruled out (e.g., no disc herniation on MRI, negative electrodiagnostic study) to justify use of the unspecified code over M50.1-, M51.1-, or M47.2-.
• If conservative care has been tried, document what was done and the response — this supports medical necessity and distinguishes the encounter from an initial workup visit.
• Include functional impact (e.g., sleep disruption, ADL limitations) to support ongoing treatment authorization and demonstrate clinical severity.

Related CPT procedures

Procedure codes commonly billed with M79.2. Linking the right diagnosis to the right procedure is what establishes medical necessity.

Source · CMS LCDs · AAOS specialty guidance · claims-pattern analysis

Common coding pitfalls

The recurring mistakes coders make with M79.2 and adjacent codes.

Source · Editorial brief grounded in CDC ICD-10-CM tabular guidance, AAOS coding references, and cited references ↓

• Assigning M79.2 when imaging or EMG/NCS has identified a specific structural cause — radiculopathy with disc disorder, spondylosis, or degenerative disc disease with lower extremity pain — violates the Type 1 exclusions and will trigger payer scrutiny.
• Using M79.2 as a default 'nerve pain' code without reviewing whether G58.9 (mononeuropathy, unspecified) or G89.29 (other chronic pain) more accurately reflects the clinical scenario and encounter purpose.
• Confusing M79.2 with M79.10-M79.18 (myalgia codes) — neuralgia is nerve-mediated pain; myalgia is muscle pain. The provider's documented terminology drives the distinction.
• Failing to apply the radiculitis NOS cross-reference: radiculitis NOS routes back to M54.1- in many indexing paths, not M79.2 — verify the Alphabetic Index before finalizing.

Clinical context

Source · Editorial summary grounded in 6 cited references ↓

Inclusion & exclusion notes

Per the official ICD-10-CM Tabular List.

Source · CDC ICD-10-CM Official Tabular List · 2026

Sibling codes

Other billable codes under M79 (laterality / anatomic variants).