Could chromatography induce a conformational change?
While I do not have numbers at hand to support it, I think it is possible, chromatography on silica indeed may influence, may restrain the conformational flexibilty of molecules in the mobile phase.

Normal phase chromatography depends on adsorption.  A complete rotation around a $\sigma$-bond, even in absence of other molecules around, needs some energy to pass from one stagggered to an other staggered conformtion.



(figure source)

If there were now -- instead of methyl groups separated by three bonds, as depicted in the diagram -- two groups with a high affinity to the stationary phase, this said energetical barrier would increase.  Assuming lowered temperature and affinity of these groups "just intense enough" (e.g., deportontated sulfonic acids, not per-alkylated ammonium groups), the propability to find one molecule in such $\ce{s-cis}$ conformation will increase.  I just see a potentially relevent publication Langmuir, 2004, 20, 10639–10647 about proteins decoiling on silica.  I imagine, amphiphlic structures like reverse micelles may be equally influenced and will "swap their inner to the outer" as if they were (again) exposed to aqueous systems when facing silica.

Yet I am still hesitant to state if this may by become a constraint, leading to a situation where once conformation is looked, as in the instance of atropisomers.