Why did tea tree oil eliminate pain in my big toe joint?

by Elaine
(Hanover, NH, USA)

I had been painting tea tree oil (diluted with almond oil) on a scaly spot on my big toe to help restore the skin back to normal. I noticed that when I did so, a recurring pain in my toe joint disappeared. Over time, the scaly spot went away, so I stopped painting it. When the pain (but not the scaly spot) returned, I experimented with painting it with tea tree oil again. Mysteriously, the pain disappeared again. To this day, when my big toe starts hurting again, I simply paint it with tea tree oil, and the pain goes away in minutes. Placebo effect? I don't think so, because when I discovered the effect, I had not been using the tea tree oil for pain, and I had no expectation that it would relieve pain. The unexpected pain relief was a "side effect" of the topical skin remedy. I have no explanation for this. I'm just reporting my experience. Is there any medical reason why this would have worked as it did?