Nothing can finish off an outfit better for a fashionista than a stunning pair of high heels. They add height. Lengthen the legs. Instantly demand that wearers thrust back their shoulders and strut their stuff with confidence. They also come in a variety of shapes, colors, and textures to mesh with any outfit and evoke any mood. But high heels can also come with a high toll on your health.

High heels have been in fashion for centuries, but it is only recently that the footwear has been reaching new heights. Designers everywhere have been pushing massive platforms and stilettos down the runway, and the trend is trickling down to mass retailers where the majority of women buy their shoes. Heels can tower five, six, or even seven inches, practically forcing wearers to teeter around on the tips of their toes. This can cause painful hammer toes, which is a condition where the second, third, or forth toes are permanently deformed and bent to resemble a hammer due to excessively high heels or too-narrow shoes. Women sporting sky-high heels are also at a greater risk of injuring their ankles due to the unsteady nature of walking in heels. Rather than having your weight distributed evenly on the entirety of your feet, your weight is shifted completely to your toes or the balls of your feet when you wear high heels, which can throw off your balance and make it easier for you to slip or roll your ankle.

Shockingly, wearing high heels for too long can even cause something as painful as snapping your ligaments or breaking the bones in the balls of your feet. Those who wear high heels all the time may actually find their bodies “adapting” to the foreign foot placement, causing their ankle ligaments to shorten. This can make wearing anything less than a high heel extremely painful, and may even cause the ligament to snap like an overstretched rubber band. In addition, with so much pressure on the balls of the feet while donning high heels, some women may actually break the bones there. All in the name of fashion.

Yet, medical professionals know that asking women to stop wearing high heels is out of the question. Instead, they are urging women to simply exercise precaution when strapping on stilettos. For one, heel wearers need to buy shoes that fit properly. For another, feet should be given breaks and not forced into high heels hour after hour and day after day. Fashion can be a pain, but it should not be crippling.