Stretching is definitely a good idea. Have you been to PT at all for this? Maybe you have a muscle imbalance that is causing your problem (such as weak gluteus medius/overactive TFL), and they could advise you on exercises to improve it. Also check for trigger points in the TFL (the muscle on the front of the hip toward the outer side)--these can make the muscle tight, which makes the IT band tight, which causes a painful problem. These are some of the things that helped me with my IT band problem; another that you may or may not want to consider would be running barefoot or in Vibram Five Fingers--since switching to this, I haven't had one twinge whereas I was still occasionally feeling it when wearing my regular running shoes. Hope this helps!