I feel your pain! Literally
I try to ice mine when I remember, do lots of stretching - hamstrings and quads. Most times my hamstrings feel nasty. I try to get some ITB stretching in there too and some massage.
I've also just started taking Glucosamine and lots of Omega 3s to see if that helps any.
When I get back to running (next week or the week after) I will be avoiding hills and starting out slowly on the treadmill.
Have you checked out some strengthening exercises on the net? I think there's some that recommend a "step-down" exercise where you move slowly and controlled down a small step.
HTH
PS - you might want to read this
http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=68