One out of ten people who run regularly will experience Plantar Fasciitis at some point in their life. A recently published study in the Foot & Ankle International Journal compared steroid injections to manual therapy and exercise for relief of this condition. Both groups achieved significant improvements in function and pain at 3, 6, and 12 weeks with outcomes favoring the steroid injections. Beyond the three month mark, and out to the final follow-up of one year, only the patients that received manual physical therapy and exercises continued to exhibit reduced pain and improved function. These results indicate the importance of manual PT treatment and exercise as a long term solution to Plantar Fasciitis pain. 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26400901

Like many initial aches and pains we often take a wait and see approach to determine if the pain will go away. Life gets busy and by the time we make the decision to seek assistance some time has passed. A recent study has found that wait and see may not be the best approach. According to researchers individuals with neck pain that seek early PT, defined as within 4 weeks of onset, were twice as likely to feel significantly with treatment as compared to those that waited for more than 4 weeks. Additionally those that sought early PT were 1.8 times more likely to feel a significant reduction in their pain. Don’t wait and see, seek early PT services.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4942887/

A recently published study from the British Medical Journal looked at the long-term (2 yr) outcomes of patients who underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy vs. Physical Therapy (PT) for their degenerative meniscal tear. The results indicated that PT (exercise) is as effective as surgery in the long term and in the short term leg strength was improved to a greater extent in the PT group. This is the latest study bringing forward the idea that some surgical procedures continue to be performed despite strong available alternatives. This is eloquently expanded on in a recent New York Times Article.