Friday nights at Boston University mean stampedes of high-heeled women perfecting the Commonwealth Avenue strut as they look for fashion, fun and, experts say, fractures.

Stress fractures, bunions and even back problems requiring surgery can develop as women ignore their heel-generated discomfort, said BU Physical Therapy Center physical therapist Rebecca Arner-Brown.

“When your foot is just flat on the ground, the back part of the foot takes about 50 percent of the weight and the front takes about 50 percent,” Arner-Brown said. “When you wear a heel, that changes dramatically. The front gets about 90 percent of the weight. Your foot just isn’t made to do that.”

Heels can cause back problems because they offset the natural angle of the pelvis, which not only damages the pelvis itself but also puts pressure on the bottom vertebrae of the spine, Arner-Brown said. Heels can also cause the calf muscles to shorten, she said.

“If blisters were the worst of it, there’d be no problem at all,” she said. “We believe that legs look great in heels, but the more you wear them, the more damage you do.”

Stiletto snafus do not stop at medical problems. High heels can hinder a victim’s ability to defend herself in a physical attack, BU Police Department Officer Peter Shin said. Shin runs the Rape Aggression Defense program, which teaches female self-defense and safety awareness.

Women should practice running in their high heels, and if they cannot either kick their shoes off or move quickly in them, “It’s going to be a problem,” Shin said.

“I would probably say that you’re going to be at a disadvantage if you have to fight in heels. I personally don’t think I could balance on a heel to try to do that,” he said.

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Ashley Endicott said she agrees heels can be a problem in emergency situations, but said if she thought escape was impossible, she might use the shoes as a weapon to defend herself.

Juliana Buendia, a CAS senior, said she is “vaguely aware” of high heel dangers, but continues to wear three- and four-inch heels two to three times a week.

“Not only do they make you look great and walk a certain way, but they give you a lot of confidence,” Buendia said. “When you wear heels, you just feel better about yourself.”

Buendia said she wants to wear high heels while she is young because she thinks middle-aged women typically do not get away with the look or physical strain of the fashion favorite.

“I sound like a smoker,” she said. “But I feel like they’re things that won’t affect me until I’m a lot older.”