I had a runner's knee, too. Very common indeed. got it while training for a Marathon, which I ended up not running due to that...
Doctor recommended the same to me.
Daily stretching and leg side raises fixed it for me in about 2 months.
I took ibuprofen during the first week to be able to walk stairs up and down etc. anything anti-inflammatory should do.
I commute 30km per day to work on a fixed bike and never had that problem again. I also rarely skid.