Form to Function

There's an old Osteopathic saying that Form dictates Function and Function will alter Form. What this means at its simplest is that a bird can fly because it has the form to do so, and that it's flying--the function--will contribute to this form.
We see this quite often when working with bodies, especially those that are injured in some way. Take for instance a horse that has a problem with its fetlock that makes it painful to use that joint. The nervous system will change the function of the leg to reduce the pain it experiences from the fetlock. The change in function will result in a change in the form. Initially the functional change will require some muscular effort, as this goes on the myofascia will change to support the new pattern without muscle effort. At some point in time the original pain may resolve but the new "holding pattern"--shortened myofascia--will mimic the painful gait with the appearance that the horse still has pain. Until the myofascial restriction is released the horse will move like it has fetlock pain. This could cause a lot of unneeded vet bills as myofascial phantom is chased down.
On the other hand there is the possibility that one of us therapists is called in to work with this horse. If we decide that the holding pattern is the culprit--that is our training--and release it only to find that the painful fetlock is still painful and the horse gets worse.
It's a Catch 22, damned if you do damned if you don't. What I do in these situations is explain this Form to Function principle to the animal's owner and let them take the gamble. Sometimes it works out fine that the horse--in this example--is much better after the release, sometimes they're worse, and sometimes they're worse and then get better.
When I say the animal is worse it's relative to how they were moving before you released the restriction, the body will rebuild that holding pattern over time. In fact if you are experiencing time when you are always removing the same holding pattern you'll need to look somewhere else for the cause.