If you've ever suffered foot problems from wearing a gorgeous pair of heels, you're certainly in good company. Most women report that high heels start to hurt after one hour and six minutes, while 20 percent say that they can feel the pain after just 10 minutes.
In a new British survey of 2,000 men and women and 60 podiatrists conducted by The College of Podiatry, about half of women said that they suffered foot problems after wearing uncomfortable shoes.
More than 40 percent of women said that they'll suffer for the sake of fashion, while only 12 percent of men said that they'd do the same.
When the pain gets too much, one in four women said that they have resorted to dancing barefoot in a nightclub or bar, while a third of women said that they have walked home barefoot due to throbbing feet.
Women in the survey on average said that they own 17 pairs of shoes, while men said that they own eight.
The younger the woman, the higher the heels, with 20 percent of women aged 18-24 owning a pair of six-inch high heeled shoes compared to 10 percent of those aged 25-42.
Perhaps it's no surprise but women were also found to have more foot ailments than men, with 90 percent saying that they have experienced problems, ranging from blisters to muscular problems.
Twenty percent of women said that there were "embarrassed" by their feet, with another 12 percent so ashamed that they always covered them up.
"Feet are one of the hardest working parts of the body and in a lifetime you will walk in excess of 150,000 miles," said Lorraine Jones, podiatrist from The College of Podiatry.
"As a result of general wear and tear, most of us will suffer with some sort of foot complaint at some point in our lives, but we are seeing a lot of cases which could have been prevented - particularly amongst women."
"We all like to look good but it's important to take a common sense approach to footwear," she added. "High heels and flip flops are fine to wear occasionally but not all the time." For day to day wear, she said, you should opt for a well-fitting round toed shoe with a heel height of around one inch.