Help with Knee Problem?

Tendons to the muscles to your kneecap tightened up and caused the cracking sound and are making it hard to lift your leg to do stairs now. With the tendon being tight the whole muscle is short so it's pulling the kneecap up on and into the knee to bind it up. The tendons can be freed up but are difficult to do so having one who works with them is the best way to go. As you already found out the medical people are not the ones to go to for this.