Knee Pain ICD-10-CM codes

Knee pain is M25.56- with laterality in the 6th character: M25.561 pain in right knee, M25.562 pain in left knee, and M25.569 pain in unspecified knee. There is no bilateral knee pain code, so pain in both knees is reported with M25.561 and M25.562 together.

When the provider documents chronic knee pain, add G89.29 (other chronic pain). The G89 code is sequenced first only when the encounter is for pain management; when the visit is to evaluate the knee itself, M25.56- comes first. Other knee symptoms have their own codes in the same pattern, such as M25.461 effusion of the right knee and M25.661 stiffness of the right knee.

Knee pain is a symptom code and is dropped once a definitive cause is documented. Knee osteoarthritis is M17.11 (right) or M17.12 (left), and bilateral knee osteoarthritis is M17.0. Patellofemoral pain is coded from M22.2-, such as M22.2X1, an internal derangement from M23, and a knee sprain from S83, such as S83.91XA. Pain in the shin or calf rather than the joint is M79.66-. See the joint pain and osteoarthritis guides for the other joints.