With the new year in full swing, many orders of business fall upon our shoulders. Aside from resolutions we may not keep and weather predictions from a groundhog, the heaviest of those orders are high-fashion handbags.A fashion accessory trend that began with designer labels and recognizable patterns has snowballed into a larger-than-life craze. Handbags that used to designate an extreme awareness of fashion, such as Dooney & Bourke and Coach, are now worn by a large number of women.

Not only are college students and working women strapping their arms through more bags, the bags themselves are getting larger. According to an article from About.com, major designers are “pushing larger, structured bags in shapes from bowling bags to satchels to totes and doctors’ bags.”

For these bags, you’ll spend upward of $150, but don’t rule out the additional expense of a doctor’s visit for your sore shoulder and tired back.

Bigger bags and longer straps create extra leverage that may spell health problems for women, according to Martin Roberts’ article in Reuters Life! These problems include neck, shoulder and back pain.

William Case, a private-practice physical therapist of Houston, said in the Reuters article that “an aggravated neck or shoulder can lead to upper back problems.” Then the pain can be felt in a range of activities – from working at a computer to playing sports.

Whether it’s worth the hassle, it’s up to every fashionista to decide for herself, but I’d say it’s time to bring our bagging styles back down to earth. The good news, said handbag expert Pamela Pekerman, of BagTrends.com, is the bags are getting smaller this season.

Still, with great power comes great responsibility. With the packing capacity of a super-large tote, women have to be careful not to overstuff. Proud owners of big bags should be careful to keep their cargo to the essentials.

For college students, it’s convenient to carry an ID holder that will fit onto your keyring, and, with that ensemble, you have all your daily must-haves in the palm of your hand.

If you’re too attached to your designer purse to part ways with it, change up the size and weight of the ones you carry. Along with this, always practice good posture – bag on your shoulder or not. Case recommended keeping the head and shoulders aligned upright. Even if your posture doesn’t last the whole day, it’s sure to momentarily relieve the pressure. And keep in mind Case’s recommendation for schoolchildren and backpacks – keep the load within 10 percent to 15 percent or less of your body weight.

Temporary pain alleviation can come from massages, rest and anti-inflammatory medicines, but the only permanent solution lies in changes as big as our purses. So unless we want to carry around books on our heads, we better shape down our bags, straighten our postures and lighten the load.

Anahita Kalianivala is an English and psychology major from Fort Worth. Her column appears every Tuesday.