Knee problem, anyone else have this?!

Knee problem, anyone else have this?

I had knee surgery 20 years ago for a synovial plica. No real problems since. Now when sleeping at night in the fetal position, when I go to stretch the leg out, the knee has a charlie horse or cramp like pain in it. Takes several painfull minutes to straighten the knee out. Then for the rest of the day I can hardly bear weight on it. When I do extend it fully to try to walk it feels like something is going to rip. Any ideas to what may be going on?

Hey vivid. Unfortunately, that's not the type of answer that can be found on Yahoo. You'll need to see a Doctor who can physically examine your knee. I heard a Doc one time say that the human knee is the poorest designed bone joint of all the mammals. That's because - for it's location and expected function - has no lateral or forward flexibility. And once injured, may never fully recover. Could be bone on bone contact at the joint, stretched ligaments, or a torn ligament. I'm not trying to scratch your finish here, but I really do recommend a Doctor.