For someone with a back issue I think being conservative has a lot of value.
@Grasschopper my advice is to check your ego at the door and learn to hip hinge using bodyweight. Take your time, lifting and life are not races, you have decades ahead of you. Once you’ve really mastered that, progress to dumbbell/kettlebell. And when you go to the unweighted bar, @RONDAL suggestion of elevating it 8" with a block is how to start. And FWIW I used a block to elevate kettlebell.