Which finding is NOT typically associated with osteoarthritis?

Which finding is NOT typically associated with osteoarthritis?

• A. Clicking sound when joint moves
• B. Fever
• C. Pain worsened by activity
• D. Joint stiffness after periods of rest

Answer: (B)

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative, non-inflammatory joint disease, so the typical signs are mechanical in nature: pain that worsens with activity and improves with rest, stiffness after periods of inactivity that is usually brief, and a grinding or clicking sensation (crepitus) as roughened joint surfaces move. Fever, on the other hand, is not part of OA and would point toward infection or another inflammatory process (like rheumatoid arthritis). So fever does not fit the usual OA pattern, while the other findings align with its degenerative, non-systemic nature.