just to back you up on the comfort thing – husband and I switched to "barefoot" style shoes (a cheap brand so we could try them out, definitely not Xero) a couple months ago, and they've made a huge difference in the amount of foot and leg pain and fatigue we get. we both vastly prefer the new shoes and hate having to wear anything else, so now we're saving up to get zero-drop wide-toebox steel toe work boots.

my feet were put in too-small shoes a lot when I was a kid, and I've had bunions as long as I can remember. barefoot shoes combined with toe socks and foot exercises have helped me almost entirely correct the minor bunion in one foot (in 3ish months!) and made a lot of progress with the other.