I fully agree with this, and wish to share an anecdote of my own:

I severely injured my back, bulged disk, cause? Poor computer posture and near-total lack of exercise.

I'm fairly convinced that lifting has left me substantially less injury prone: I started when I noticed that I was experiencing knee pain when bending down to pick something up off the floor. That's been gone since about two months after starting training.

Definitely respect yourself and respect the weight. Best of luck with your recovery, I know how it is and it's a journey for sure.