Only YOU can decide if your wrist cracking is serious enough to warrant seeing your doctor. Below are several questions you need to identify for yourself and then bring to your physician's attention:1. Is your wrist painful (sore, dull ache), or does it manifest as a tingling in your hand?2. Is the cracking associated with a particular motion of your wrist?3. Does your wrist get "stuck"?4. Is the cracking associated with pain?5. Does cracking your wrist relieve the pain?6. As a pianist, do your wrist problems limit your playing?Your physician will most likely put you on some sort of anti-inflammatory, order x-rays of your hand/wrist in various positions (i.e. clenched fist, relaxed, hand angled to the left...), then order an MRI to assess the tendons/ligaments in your wrist and check to see if there's fluid in the joint spaces. In the meantime, you will probably get referred either to a plastic surgeon who specializes in hands/wrists, or an orthopedic surgeon (general or hand/wrist). As a fellow pianist with a wrist that cracks, I feel your pain (perhaps literally!). You can PM me for more details on my injuries, diagnosis, and treatments if you'd like.
6. Nope, except that I can get a sore wrist when I've been playing for a long time.
soreness is not caused by "cracking your wrist" - i crack both wrists (and, doing that circular move you talked about i can crack my right wrist hundreds of times in a row - of course, i only do it to get everyone present annoyed )soreness (due to practicing) can only be caused by defficient technique. see a doctor (if it really hurts) or a piano teacher (for solutions).
my wrists ache at times when i practice...im new to piano and just see it as my fingers/wrists havnt adjusted to the activity...i give em a rest then continue later..no biggie