Background: Treatments that are matched to patient risk (stratified care) have the potential to improve effectiveness of primary care for patients with musculoskeletal pain. However musculoskeletal pain conditions are extensive and the knowledge base is large. To inform development of matched treatments a rapid yet detailed evidence summary on effectiveness of available treatment options was needed. Objectives: To develop an approach to synthesizing large evidence summaries; rapidly to synthesise and appraise current best evidence on treatment options for five most common musculoskeletal pain presentations in primary care and to summarise the available evidence on treatments for patient risk subgroups using stakeholder groups. Methods: Evidence synthesis followed a pyramidal approach using national clinical guidelines, policy documents, clinical evidence pathways and summaries as starting point. Recommendations on available treatment options for shoulder, neck, knee, back and multisite pain were extracted consecutively. Systematic searches of bibliographic databases were conducted to identify and retrieve additional published trials that had not yet been summarised or where evidence gaps existed. Quality of evidence was assessed based on modified GRADE quality ratings and strength of evidence. Evidence summaries were subsequently presented to stakeholders (including health service managers, clinicians and researchers) for interpretation and to identify appropriate treatment options that might be matched to patient risk subgroups. Results: Via a rapid yet systematic and comprehensive approach, pragmatic summaries of the evidence base on treatment options for five musculoskeletal pain presentations were completed. Based on current best evidence, identification of matched treatment options according to patient risk subgroups appears feasible across musculoskeletal pain presentations. Conclusions: Effective healthcare delivery and clinical practice depend on high quality evidence which provides depth as well as breadth of coverage. A novel and pragmatic approach to rapid synthesis of large evidence is explored and found applicable within musculoskeletal pain field