If you're considering getting rid of high heels after wearing them for a long time, science says your body might need a little bit of time to recover. Mitchell Starkman, a Toronto-based physiotherapist, told The List, "When you stop wearing heels, your body needs to re-adjust to no longer living on a tilt!" So it may take time for things to go back to normal.

Reed agrees. "It can actually become uncomfortable [to wear flat shoes] if someone has been wearing high heels for long time. They might experience leg pain and discomfort, and that has to do with the shortening of the muscle belly of the calf," he noted in The Huffington Post Australia.

So what does it mean to stop living on the tilted edge? "Your tissues will begin to adapt to this new positions, your achilles tendons will lengthen, your lower back pain can vanish and your feet won't feel like stiff boards anymore," Starkman continued. "That being said, I always recommend a slow transition as the body needs time to adapt." So before you have a flash sale or head to Goodwill with a donation box, you might want to keep a few pairs of heels around as you transition. As always, talk to your doctor for the best way to proceed.