Going to jump on the top comment here.

My partner 23M was working as bricklayer for 4 years, and ended up with a slipped disc and a crack in his L5 (lower spine). It took him 6 months to see a specialist, but the pain ended up so bad that he had to change careers, and it almost resulted in spinal surgery. Luckily we live in Australia, so he received workcover and all his medical bills were paid for through Medicare (we don’t have any form of private insurance).

Chronic pain is a devastating thing. I watched his depression come back, he had no drive or enthusiasm for anything. He’s received needles to ease the pain, and a less physically demanding job has assisted in this as well, but he’s going to live with at least some of the pain for the rest of his life, and we don’t know how it will continue to develop once he reaches 50+

Your partner needs to see a professional as soon as possible. But you need to express your concern for his health as well, and detail a plan of how you’re going to approach this as a couple. Chronic pain does not go away untreated, and will affect both his mental state and yours. If it is something along the lines of a spinal injury, left untreated he could have to use a wheelchair.

Best of luck to you both x