Posted on 7th Oct 2011 @ 2:07 PM

If you experienced pain every time you tried to move, what would you do? If you said, "I'd stop moving," you're our kind of person. But sadly, in addition to the fact that “our kind of people” aren't winning any Olympic Golds any time soon, we face even more terrifying consequences: for those of us with arthritis or other degenerative conditions, there's the possibly that not moving can actually accelerate the problem. Unfortunately, folks, simply wearing braces on our aching joints and filling our homes with cute little ergonomic products won’t help, either.

The Arthritis Foundation, together with tennis star and professional awesome person Billie Jean King, is trying to convince us to change all that. A series of ads debuted last year with the slogan "Moving is the best medicine," and featuring unlikely break dancers showing off their moves. (And presumably, fighting arthritis at the same time.)

Billie Jean King's ads debuted last week during the US Open, and feature the 67-year-old tennis player beating the pants off of arthritis in a singles match. King has had osteoarthritis for forty years, and refers to tennis as a weapon in her fight against the disease.

This is in keeping with the rest of the ad campaign for 2011, which features the slogan "In the fight against arthritis, you need a weapon. What's yours?"

The New York Times points out that this is a shift from last year's ads, which were lighter and funnier and aimed at raising awareness. Peggy Conlon, vice president of the Ad Council, said that, "For the second year, we wanted to be more empowering and more action-oriented."

In addition to the ads featuring Billie Jean King, the Arthritis Foundation has developed spots featuring other, non-famous middle-aged men and women engaging in a variety of sports, including swimming, boxing, and walking. The goal, according to associate professor of medicine Dorothy Dunlop, who consulted on the project, is to "help people not think of this as an exercise regimen, but part of their daily experience."